Children of the Andalites Chapter 1: The Protector
by Sarah aka DEVI
Summary: My friend Lauren and I are HUGE animorph finatics. So why not put us in the story somewhere?-_-'....Hopefully will have more chapters to come... :) I do suck@summaries-_-'....Please R
1. Children of the Andalites Chapter 1: The...

The Protector  
  
Chapter #1  
  
My name is Tobias.  
  
When the others tell you about our, well, our adventures I guess you could call them, they explain that they can't tell you their last names, or where they live. That doesn't apply to me. I can tell you everything.  
  
I don't know my last name--I can't remember it. I think it might have started with a B... or was it a C?  
  
As for my home, I live in a forest. My address--a tree.  
  
You see, I'm a hawk.  
  
But before I say how I got to be a hawk, I'd better explain why we can't tell you our names or addresses. We- that's the Animorphs. We morph animals. Get it--Animorph, animal morpher?  
  
We got the ability to morph animals from a dying Andalite. The Andalites are the only hope we have against the Yeerks- other than the morphing ability.  
  
Who are the Yeerks? The Yeerks are a race of fist-shaped parasitic slugs who take over the minds of other, weaker, creatures and use them as hosts. They've already taken over the Gedds, who are sort of like monkeys, the Hork-Bajir, who are huge blade-covered monsters who used to be rather sweet, the Taxxons who are despicable worms, and now the humans. But they won't take us all over. We're going to stop the invasion.  
  
We hope.  
  
See, that's what we do. Using the morphing power, we follow the Yeerks' actions, see what they're going to do next. Then we try to stop it.  
  
Sometimes, we fail miserably. Other times, we win small victories. Slowly, slowly, we're wearing down on the Yeerks. Strike, pull back, strike again, pull back.  
  
There are problems, of course, other than the fact that we might all get killed. The morphing power has its limits. You have to be able to take over the animal's mind, which is usually easy. But sometimes it can- literally- drive you insane. And, of course, there's the time limit. If you stay in a morph for over two hours, then you're stuck in that morph. That's it. Unless, of course, some omnipotent being comes along and helps you out. That's what happened to me. I'm still a hawk, but I can morph. I even have a morph of myself.  
  
But even with all the problems, sometimes I really get a kick out of beating the Yeerks back, saving the world again for today.  
  
Chapter #2  
  
But we weren't thinking about saving the world today as we walked down the street to the Community Center that foggy Thursday morning. Or at least, they walked. I flew.  
  
"How did I get into this?" Marco groaned. Marco's a short Hispanic-looking boy who makes way too many jokes. He takes the whole 'saving the world' thing as a joke. He can help us get through our problems sometimes, though.  
  
"Oh, come on, Marco! It's not that bad!" That was Jake. Him and Marco have been friends ever since they were both eating mashed bananas'n'carrots in a jar. Jake's our leader.  
  
"Grow up, Jake. You're only coming because Cassie wants to." Jake blushed. You see, Jake likes Cassie. You know, as in LIKES. Cassie turned on them both.  
  
"If you both don't shut your traps right now, I'll... I'll..." Rachel stepped in for her.  
  
"She'll get into her skunk morph and spray you both!" Rachel is amazingly good-looking and brave. Marco calls her Xena, Warrior Princess. It fits. I sort of like Rachel, and I think she likes me okay, but I'm a hawk. I'm not sure how to think about it yet.  
  
Cassie was looking thankfully at Rachel. Jake and Marco were making awful faces at the thought of skunk musk. You have no idea how bad it smells. And believe me, you don't want to know. I decided it was time to step in.  
  
C'mon you guys, quit giving Cassie a hard time. She's saved your butts too many times to count- it's about time you paid her back. It's the least you can do just to go to one nature music concert. You see, that's where we were going. Cassie is a nature nut, or, in the words of Marco, tree hugger. She loves things like nature concerts and asked us to come along to the one at the Community Center. We weren't exactly thrilled at the idea, especially Marco. Marco was groaning.  
  
"Aww, Tobias, you've always siding with the girls." I didn't reply because at that moment I caught a lovely warm thermal. Thermals are rising columns of air- great for flying. I rose high up, then glided down again back into thought-speech range. Thought-speech is what you use to talk to people when you're in a morph. As I zoomed back toward the group, I noticed they had stopped.  
  
Hey! What is it? Rachel glanced up and put a finger to her lips, which was ironic since I wasn't making a sound. I flew down and landed on her shoulder. She pointed to a notice by a door we were passing. It said: Private meeting of the Sharing. Authorized Personnel only. Standing by the door was a tough-looking human. But we knew he wasn't really human. He was a Controller, a Yeerk host.  
  
That's what the Sharing does- breed new Controllers. It just pretends to be a fun family organization that does things like barbecues and water-skiing.  
  
I'd give half my beak to find out what they were talking about in that meeting.  
  
Hey, why can I practically read Rachel's mind at the moment? I said.  
  
"Oh good grief." Rachel said rolling her eyes. "But yes, let's go in, cockroach perhaps?" She asked.  
  
We all exchanged glances. Cockroach was probably the only insect morph we had that everyone could agree on, since we hadn't had any really bad incidents with them yet, except for Jake getting sprayed one time.  
  
"Cockroach it is then." Jake said. We found a little alleyway where no one would probably come. They all shed off their outer clothes to reveal their morphing suits and took off their shoes. You see, you can only morph skin tight clothing, since any other clothing just falls off if you shrink, and- um, becomes a little small when you get larger. Shoes are out of the question, they always explode or get shed. I didn't really have any clothes to take off.  
  
"Oh, man, I said it about a hundred times, and I'll say it once more." Marco stated. "We look like refugees from the circus."  
  
"Yes, Marco, we've heard it a million times, and now lets stop talking and start morphing. I want to get through this as quickly as possible. We're missing the concert!" Cassie said, and started to morph.  
  
Now morphing isn't exactly the prettiest thing, and in my case its even uglier, since its generally from red-tailed hawk to something different, but Cassie has this uncanny ability to make it less stomach churning, maybe even pretty. We all followed her example.  
  
Generally when you morph to something smaller than yourself, the first sensation you have is falling slowly, like jumping off the Sears Tower in slow motion. I didn't have to "fall" as much, but still fell. My feathers on my back hardened and became glossy. I could feel my bones squish and turn to mush. My organs shifted around to accommodate the cockroach body. Huge feelers grew out of my forehead while my eyesight diminished. Huge legs sprouted from my sides while the final changes completed.  
  
Oh man, this roach morph isn't one of my favorites. Rachel commented. Whenever they were in morph, they could use thought speak, or using your head to talk if that's what you want to call it.  
  
We started to walk through the cracks in the wall, slowly making our way  
  
towards the place where the Sharing meeting was taking place. I wondered what was going to be going on in there.  
  
Lost in my thoughts, I nearly collided head on with another cockroach.  
  
Hey, Marco are you chickening out? I asked. There was no answer from the roach. Hey, who is that? I asked. There was still no answer. I wasabout to conclude that this was a normal cockroach, but I just felt that it wasn't just a roach. It backed away from me and scurried off.  
  
Did you guys see that? I asked.  
  
What? Rachel asked.  
  
Oh, nothing. I replied. Just a strange cockroach. We traveled for a little while before finding a ray of light at the end of a crack in the wall. We went through the crack and heard voices talking. The meeting was just beginning.  
  
"As you all know, we have a new plan for our invasion. We've decided on a new approach for the Sharing meetings. Not enough people have been coming. It seems too 'uncool', and people only join if someone they know is on it. So we're going to get someone everyone knows to join it." Jake winced at the voice, and no wonder. It was the voice of Tom, his brother. Tom's a Controller. The Yeerks don't care if they break up families.  
  
"But we tried that before, and it didn't work." I remembered the incident the Controller was relating to well. The Yeerks had taken over a movie star to enter the Sharing, but we had stopped their scheme. I scuttled about a little. My cockroach body was nervous because of the bright overhead lights. Cockroaches hate light.  
  
"This time, we will do it right." Tom, or the Yeerk in his head, spoke in a way which did not allow objections. The Controller who had brought it up shut his mouth. Wise move. The Yeerks love to kill anyone who does the least bit thing wrong. Tom was continuing. "This time, we're going to get-"  
  
"Sir! There are several small bugs on the floor!" The Controllers instantly began murmuring and looking around. To most people, seeing a couple of cockroaches on the floor would mean nothing. But to Controllers, it meant the Andalite bandits, in morph.  
  
That's what they think we are- Andalites. We never morph back to human in front of them, or use thought-speak. They might be able to tell then that we're humans, and blow our cover.  
  
"Oh, they're probably just bugs." Some Controller muttered. "You don't need to make a fuss." He was obviously new. Tom looked at him in fury.  
  
"We'll get to you later." he growled. "Kill the bugs! Or better yet, don't kill them! Capture them, if you can!" The Controllers instantly leapt for us.  
  
Scatter! Rachel screamed. She didn't need to- our roach bodies knew exactly what humans meant. We scattered. Feet slammed down around us and hands groped around.  
  
Ha ha! Marco gasped out. They're way to slow to- AAAAAAH! Suddenly Marco was caught up in a huge hand and lifted.  
  
Marco! I shouted. Then suddenly a hand grabbed me too. I tried to squirm out but could not move. I heard Rachel and Cassie yelling too. We had all been captured! I tried to bite, or sting, or something, but a roach's weapon is its' armor. We were helpless! Suddenly a roar rent the air.  
  
GGGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGKKKKKK! I gasped inwardly as the Controllers around me suddenly scattered- and not on their own, either. I could hardly believe my lame roach eyes as a huge velicoraptor (you know, the smart dinosaurs in Lost World) leapt through the fallen Controllers and began prying fingers open. Believe me, the Controllers didn't let the dino rip apart their hands- they let us go fast. I stood on the floor, my roach brain terrified at the lights and huge monster ahead of me, not sure what to do.  
  
Run, you idiots! I didn't know who said it, but I took the advice. I ran as fast as my little roach legs would carry me and managed to find my way out of that building. Everyone else poured out behind me. We hurried off back to the alley to demorph.  
  
Who the heck was that? I asked, in hawk form again. Rachel finished morphing and her skin became pink.  
  
"I have no idea." she said, with a frown.  
  
We finally got to the concert, shall I say, somewhat late? Cassie's parents were there, wondering where the heck we had been.  
  
"Where were you?" Cassie's mom asked, in her nervous mother voice. "We thought that you had been mugged or something."  
  
"Of course not mom." Cassie defended. "We just stopped into McDonaldsfor a quick shake."  
  
"Well, next time tell us." Cassie's dad said. "The concert started about fifteen minutes ago." We rushed up into the theater, myself in human morph, and got into the concert.  
  
We were all in our seats, listening to the music. Marco was making a face that looked like he was in agony. Rachel looked like she was about ready to strangle him. I was pondering, only half listening to the music. A velociraptor? I asked myself. They're dinosaurs, and dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years! Unless this was some alien that was able to travel through time, which was very unlikely, then what, or who was it? We had to find out, since they seemed to be on our side.  
  
"What's wrong Tobias?" Jake asked me. Apparently, he noticed my pondering look.  
  
"That was a velociraptor in the Sharing meeting." I replied. "A DINOSAUR. Isn't that a little odd to you?"  
  
"I have to admit, you don't see it every day." Jake replied.  
  
"This is obviously some sort of being that wants to help us." I said.  
  
"A being that can travel through time?" Jake asked. "That's a little far fetched, except for an Ellimist, but they wouldn't use such an approach. This is definitely some different being."  
  
"Do you think that maybe its an Andalite, and maybe they have developed some new technology that would allow them to acquire deceased animals?" I asked.  
  
"Not likely." Jake replied. "They don't develop new technologies THAT quickly."  
  
"I think we should ask Ax." I said.  
  
"I definitely think you're right." Jake replied.  
  
"Hush you guys!" Cassie whispered to us. "The music is going on, and I don't think that you should be talking about dinos or Andalites when we're in here!"  
  
We stopped talking, and tried to listen to the music, but my mind was too preoccupied. I settled down, anxious to get to Ax to ask him.  
  
Chapter #3  
  
In a few hours, the concert finally ended. I say 'finally' because it really wasn't my type of music- though it wasn't bad. 'Finally' also because I kept having to go to the bathroom to morph out and back into our human forms, and I was getting tired. Rapid morphing tires you out big time. Cassie's parents decided to drive home, while we just decided to walk. It was nice to walk on the ground for a change, but nothing will compare to flying the thermals. We walked for a while, Cassie and Rachel on one end of the street, and Jake, Marco, and I on the other end. We did this so it didn't look like we were hanging out together, because then people might put two and two together, and that person might be a Controller. I was squinting with my human eyes which seemed so weak after hawks' eyes, looking in shop windows, when I noticed something strange.  
  
"Hey, look, you guys." I said, pointing in the window of a Golden Corral restaurant. It was brightly lit and we could see inside easily. Across the restaurant in a corner table sat two men. One of the men looked nervous. The other man was stuffing himself- with grated cheese and -get this- mustard packets. "Refresh my memory. Ax isn't here, right?" You see, Andalites don't have mouths in their normal (if you can call a huge blue deer with a human torso and four eyes normal) bodies, so when they get at food the flavor drives them slightly nuts. Marco looked at me like I was insane.  
  
"Well, gee, I wonder. I don't see a terminally cute guy around here anywhere, and he wouldn't be roaming the streets otherwise, so I sort of think he's not here." Rachel glared at Marco.  
  
"He stayed behind in the forest because he wasn't feeling well, Tobias. Don't you remember?" I was shaking my head.  
  
"Yes, I know! I remember where he is. But if Ax's in the forest, then who's that?" I pointed to the man gobbling the cheese and mustard. The other man who was sitting with him appeared to be begging him to stop. For a moment the man turned toward us. Cassie hissed.  
  
"Chapman! And that must be-" I nodded.  
  
"Visser Three. Come on, let's go."  
  
Visser Three was the only Yeerk who had managed to acquire an Andalite. Because of this, he was able to morph and had the high rank of 'Visser'. He was our worst and most hated enemy. He had killed prince Elfangor, the dying Andalite who had given us the morphing power. As for Chapman, he was a high-ranking Controller- and also our assistant principal.  
  
Jake went up and told Cassie and Rachel what we were going to do. They came in after us, so no one would notice. We went in and went to the restroom, where we would morph. Fly was the decided morph, although we would have to watch the fly's mind, because being in a restaurant in a fly's view was that it had died and gone to heaven. The girls came in after us, and we flew around the counter for a moment while we waited for them.  
  
Well, okay, now where do we go? Rachel asked.  
  
Hmm, I said, and looked around with my terrible fly compound eyes. After a moment, I saw a place that was blocked off by a couple of guards. There! I said. Follow me. We flew towards the guards, looking like just a few flies.  
  
We got up there in time to hear one of the guards say to a guy that this area was reserved for someone important.  
  
Here we go. Jake said. I wonder why they're meeting in a restaurant?  
  
Apparently, Visser Three wanted to try food out. I muttered, remembering the gorging Controller. As we came close to Chapman and Visser Three, we heard the buzz of speech. I frantically worked at sorting it out- I was not used to the fly morph which I had acquired only recently. Finally I managed to figure out what they were saying.  
  
"So explain this to me again. What exactly does this... this Regieg scanner do?" Visser Three asked. Chapman had finally managed to stop his out-of- control eating. Our assistant principal sighed like one who had explained something many times.  
  
"The Regieg scanner, when activated, will tell if there is an Andalite in morph anywhere in a fifty-foot radius of the spot where it was activated." Visser Three made a face.  
  
"Only fifty feet? What's the use of it then?" Chapman looked slightly nervous, as if his life was on the line, which it was.  
  
"You can check suspicious people, Visser. Also, we can place Regieg scanners in certain places to monitor if any Andalites arrive. We can even rig them up with an alarm that warns us when they are coming." Visser Three smiled.  
  
"Good. That is very good, indeed! Try it out now." Shrugging, Chapman brought out a fist-sized object that looked vaguely like a fish. As he began pressing its buttons, alarm shot through me.  
  
Out! We've got to get out of here! Everyone haul butt! I flew crazily away from the table as fast as I could, then slowed as I realized no one was following me. Hey! What's the deal? Come on, you guys! Marco laughed.  
  
Ah, Bird-boy, we're not Andalites. I felt stupid, to say the least.  
  
Riiiight. I calmly flew back just in time to hear Chapman say,  
  
"An Andalite! There is one here!" Visser Three leapt up, knocking over his chair.  
  
"Where? Where?!" Chapman pressed buttons furiously, then calmed visibly.  
  
"Oh." Visser Three looked at him like he was turning orange and sprouting tentacles.  
  
"What do you mean, Oh? Where's the Andalite? I'll have his head!!!!" Chapman, looking sheepish, looked up at his leader.  
  
"I'm afraid you already do, Visser. Ah- you're an Andalite in morph." Visser Three sat down quickly, embarrassed, waving a dismissal at the alerted guards.  
  
"Of course. I knew that. Just- testing you, of course." Rachel snickered. Jake murmured,  
  
The leader of the Yeerk invasion on Earth and he doesn't even know what race he is! We all had to laugh at that, and I nearly forgot to keep my hold on the ceiling in my glee. We slowly calmed down and heard Chapman saying,  
  
"I'll test the students in my classes today. There's something strange about them- I don't know what it is, but I don't trust them." Visser Three snorted.  
  
"Andalites wouldn't go to SCHOOL, Chapman." The assistant principal shrugged.  
  
"I don't know, maybe they want to learn about Earth." Visser Three nodded slowly.  
  
"Perhaps. Yes, do check them. It would not hurt." With that, both of them rose, the meeting apparently over.  
  
We'd better go. Jake said, and we hurried off to the bathrooms to morph again. We had hidden our extra clothes (you can't morph anything other than minimal clothing- it gets shredded) in the trash cans, and luckily no janitor had been through. We hurried out into the dusk, worrying about the new developments. I walked with Marco and Jake towards their home before I morphed out and went home. Like I said before, my address is a tree behind Cassie's house. I was kinda anxious to get home because I needed to watch my territory for any other hawk rivals and so I could talk to Ax. Red- tailed hawks are very territorial, and I have a pretty good territory, so I have to guard it sort of well.  
  
Chapter #4  
  
I flew slowly, wondering who the heck was that velociraptor, and how the heck he or she got the morph of a velociraptor. Ax explained to me once a little bit about DNA, and that it degrades over time, loosing a piece as it multiplies. After a while, there is no way one could acquire the animal.  
  
I landed in the tree I usually spent the night in. One of the things I miss about being human is really sleeping, I mean, out like a light sleeping. When you're a hawk, you only half sleep, since raccoons have a tendency to climb up and snatch a red-tail when he least expects it.  
  
Ax? I called out. There was no answer for a moment, but then I picked up the slight sound of galloping hooves. Ax lives with me in the woods, so we're kinda like roommates, if that's how you like to put it. He appeared galloping from behind me. He pawed the ground slightly, and looked up at me.  
  
Hello, Tobias, he said. How was the concert?  
  
Great, but something went that was unexpected. I replied.  
  
And what was that? Ax asked.  
  
We were walking to the theater, I explained. and saw a meeting of the Sharing that seemed to be pretty important. We went in, and eavesdropped for a little while, and got inside where they saw us. We scattered, but unfortunately, we were captured. We probably would have been goners, but a velociraptor jumped in!  
  
Velociraptor? Ax asked, confused.  
  
Its a type of dinosaur, that became extinct millions of years ago. I explained.  
  
That's impossible. Ax said bluntly. DNA would have degraded too much to be able to be able to acquire by this time.  
  
I figured you would say that. I said. Is there any type of alien that could do that?  
  
We have never shared our morphing technology with other species, except for Elfangor's situation. Ax said. Unless this is a special breed ofAndalite, which is very unlikely, then this is an impossible situation. Go on with your story.  
  
Well, I continued. This was starting to sound like some sort of old excuse some kid would use on his mom if he was late for dinner. After the concert, we walked past a Golden Corral and saw our old friend Visser Three stuffing his face with mustard packets.  
  
At least I'm not alone on that part. Ax said, using his eyes to sort of give a smile.  
  
We morphed roaches, and snuck up on him. They were talking about something called a Regieg scanner, that could find anyone in morph within fifty feet, and Chapman is going to try it out on the kids in school! This means the others! I said nervously.  
  
We've got to get to that device, and destroy it. Ax said bluntly. I totally agreed.  
  
The next morning, I took a long flight. The other Animorphs had to go to school, except for Ax, of course. But I could ride the wind! I rose as I caught a lovely warm thermal, a pillar of warm air. My mind was whirling with thoughts about what had happened yesterday. Who could this strange rescuer be? It couldn't be a real velicoraptor, could it? Did dinosaurs get hold of time machines? What if it was some alien species that happened to look like a dinosaur? What if- My thoughts were suddenly broken as I noticed a bird, a peregrine falcon. That wasn't too strange, although there weren't many of those around. The strange part was that the bird was flying oddly, as if it didn't know how to fly. Either it was injured, or, well, that was the way we flew when in morph, not being used to flying.  
  
Hey! Rachel? Marco? Is that you? Anybody? The falcon jogged in its flight slightly, but did not reply. I was thinking it over when I noticed something. Down on the ground below was a man, who was aiming at the falcon. He was too close to miss.  
  
Hey! You falcon there! Move your butt! Get out of there! I knew I could do nothing- animals couldn't hear our thought-speech. I was about to fly away when I noticed that the falcon had- somehow, heard me! It was getting out of there as fast as possible. I could see, rather than hear, the hunter below swearing.  
  
I finally decided, this was definitely a being in morph over there. I banked around and started to follow the red-tail. She (I use "she" because this was a female, and I didn't know who it was, so "she" was going to do.) seemed not to notice for a while, and flew east.  
  
Oh good grief, not another one. She said. It definitely was a she! I didn't know who she was though. She sounded human, but Andalite. My mind was very confused. She banked around, and headed straight towards me.  
  
"TSSSEEEERRRRR!" She cried, and raked my back. I was unharmed, but frazzled. Now why would she do that? Grr! Get out of here! Stupid males, won't leave me alone for a second. I've got to get a different bird morph. She said. Apparently, she thought I was a normal red-tail, boy was she ever wrong. She banked off again, and headed at top speed towards the east again. I tried to follow her, but she had dove into the trees, not allowing me to see her, even with my super-sharp hawk eyes. This was definitely something I needed to take to Ax.  
  
Chapter #5  
  
I landed on a branch just above the stream where Ax drank. He was there now, taking a drink. Now, I probably explained to you that Andalites have no mouths, so how the heck was Ax taking a drink you ask? Well, its strange, but he absorbs grass and water through his hooves! He seems slightly embarrassed about it, because he never talked about it before.  
  
Hey Ax-man. I said with a friendly tone. "Ax-man" is my nickname for him.  
  
Hello, Tobias. Ax replied. I thought you were out hunting. I have almost totally reverted to a hawk's natural behavior, that means hunting for mice and the like.  
  
I was, but I bumped into our velociraptor friend again. I said.  
  
Oh? Ax asked with curiosity.  
  
She was definitely in a rotten mood. I said.  
  
She? Ax asked with even more interest.  
  
Yes, and there are two reasons I call her "She." I explained. First off, she had a red-tail morph of a female, and because I think I annoyed her a little, and she blew off at me, thinking that I was a natural hawk, even though I had warned her about a hunter. Something was definitely on her mind.  
  
Well, did you find out who she is, I mean, species wise? Ax asked. One can find out another's species by just listening to the accent.  
  
I did, I replied. But she boggled me. She sounded human, but she also sounded Andalite. Do you think that maybe she is something like a shape shifter?  
  
No, Ax said. She definitely isn't that. Frankly, I don't know what she is.  
  
Chapter #6  
  
We met in Cassie's barn after school. We were going to discuss how to get at the Regieg scanner, and everyone had a lot to say. I didn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise about the mysterious morpher.  
  
"You won't believe this!" Rachel was almost squealing. "Chapman came in today and scanned us! He knocked out one of our teachers, probably- she wasn't there. Then he showed us some dumb video about whales-"  
  
"It wasn't dumb!" Cassie interjected. "It was fascinating." Rachel sighed.  
  
"Okay, he showed us a fascinating video about whales. And he kept changing things with the remote control. Only it wasn't the remote control- it was the Regieg scanner! You know how it looks similar?" I was beginning to understand, but Ax looked about as confused as an Andalite can.  
  
What is a remote control? What is... video? Marco rolled his eyes.  
  
"Remember television, Ax?"  
  
Yes, of course! Ax said. Your primitive, strangely two-dimensional, television.  
  
"Yes, our primitive two dimensional TV." Marco said with surprising patience. Surprising for him, at least. "A remote control is a device we use to, uh, manipulate this television we have. Video is a way of showing things on television." Ax still looked confused, but he was beginning to get it.  
  
Ah, I see. Video is the alternative to short-wave laser transmitting with GRD! Of course. And what does the Regieg scanner have to do with it? Marco opened his mouth to explain, but Rachel jumped in.  
  
"The Regieg scanner is shaped like a remote control, Ax. They look similar. So Chapman was pretending he was changing channels- but he was really checking if any of us were Andalites."  
  
"He did it during every period." Jake said. "It's lucky this wasn't the day you decided to learn more about humans' schools, Ax."  
  
"They're going to post scanners all over." Cassie said, sounding worried. "We've got to steal the technology before they can."  
  
"Wait!" Jake interjected. "It's really not going to be that much of a problem. The only one they will be able to track is Ax."  
  
I'd rather not be tracked, if that is acceptable. Ax said, sounding tense. I decided it was time to mention the morpher I had seen.  
  
Hey, you guys. Before we go screaming off smashing machinery, can I tell you about something I've seen? They turned to me.  
  
"What is it, Tobias?" Marco asked. "Some especially tasty mice over by your tree?" I dutifully ignored him and continued.  
  
Remember that velicoraptor? Well, this morning I was out flying and I noticed a red-tailed hawk, like me. Now, I'm the only one around, so I was slightly suspicious. Then I noticed how it was flying. Strange, like it didn't know the wind too well. Like you, when you first started out. Rachel was frowning.  
  
"Did you go closer?"  
  
Sure I did. And the strangest thing was, it attacked me! It was a red-tail female, a pretty good-looking one too.  
  
"Oooooh, Bird-boy's in looove." Marco hissed. I glared at him, which is easy with hawk eyes, and looked nervously at Rachel. She was smiling. I continued.  
  
Anyway, it seemed hawk males had been bothering her all morning, so she thought I was just another suitor. She said something about, males bothering her and having to get another morph. Then she scratched me and flew off. Still hurts. Cassie was frowning.  
  
"She certainly doesn't sound dangerous. Could you tell if she was an Andalite?" I bobbed my head up and down, slightly flustered.  
  
That was the strangest thing. She sounded sort of like a cross between human and Andalite, or a mix. I couldn't distinguish the accents too well. They sat in silence, digesting that.  
  
"Well, I think we should form a flying patrol, check out the area. If we notice strange animals, we check. But we can mostly look for Controllers putting up scanners. We can follow Chapman tomorrow- he'd be home already by now." That was a perfectly legitimate idea, so we morphed into our various birds, except me of course, and headed out across the town, in the direction of the mall. We were flying spread out over a residential area when I noticed someone who seemed engrossed with something in their hand.  
  
Chapter #7  
  
There!  
  
Right there! Ax and I noticed it in the same moment. We all banked around, circling above the man.  
  
That's a Regieg scanner all right. Jake said. Our ultra-sharp eyes could pick out the brand name on the guy's sweater, let alone a remote-control sized blinking object.  
  
Hey! Rachel said. It's Chapman! It was. Chapman was walking along the street, fiddling with the scanner.  
  
He must be on his way home, and decided to try out his scanner. Marco said. Hey! It looks like he's found something! Chapman looked up sharply and pointed at a man walking along further down the street, talking to a girl about our age.  
  
"Andalite!" he hissed. The man heard him and turned in shock. Chapman whipped out his Dracon beam and some sort of radio. As he was struggling to juggle them all at once, I took action.  
  
Let's go! I shrieked. We screamed down on the Controller, screeching with our birds' voices. We were so intent on putting him out that we didn't notice when the girl the man had been talking to screamed for him to get inside. She looked around nervously, then ducked behind a bush. Only twenty seconds later, a red-tailed hawk flew out of the bush, screaming loudly. I heard the words in the scream and stopped scratching at Chapman's bald scalp. The bird was yelling-  
  
You're not going to hurt my uncle, you obnoxious slug! Chapman was swearing and swinging at us. Rachel had grabbed the Dracon beam and dropped it in a gutter. I pulled away from his head and flew at the bird.  
  
Shut up! He'll get your accent! Who are you? The bird slowed in her flight, then suddenly shot off. I was about to call out to her when Rachel called out.  
  
All right! I've got the scanner! Let's get out of here before, well, I don't know. Let's go! I stopped wondering about the odd bird and shot off. Seven birds, one holding what looked like a remote control, flew back across the neighborhood, leaving a swearing Chapman behind and a shocked- looking woman in a bathrobe with shampoo in her hair staring after them.  
  
Chapter #8  
  
We all flew back to Cassie's house, with about fifteen minutes left before time would be up. Everyone morphed out, except for me, and Ax stayed an Andalite, since Cassie's parents weren't home at the moment we got in there, so we wouldn't have any unexpected visitors. Rachel, still holding the Regieg scanner, tossed it a couple times up in the air and then handed it to Ax.  
  
This is definitely new technology. He commented, examining the little remote control like device. It must have been a Yeerk that was smarter than the average Yeerk.  
  
"And his name must have been Yogi the Yeerk." Marco said, then with a perfect Yogi the Bear voice, "Hey Boo Boo!" We all collapsed laughing at Marco, relaxed now that the ordeal was somewhat over. I couldn't collapse though, and Ax didn't get the joke.  
  
Who is this Yogi? Ax asked, confused.  
  
Don't even ask Ax. I replied.  
  
After everyone had calmed down slightly, Jake said, "Okay, now that we've got this Regieg scanner, what do we do with it?"  
  
Well, I know the first thing we can do with it. Ax said, setting the scanner on the ground. Suddenly, FFWAP! the scanner was in two pieces. FFWAP! FFWAP! FFWAP! now eight. He gathered the eight pieces of the scanner, and said, We should take these to the ocean, and throw them in. The sea water should be enough to corrode them to the point of irretrievability.  
  
"Well, I could only understand up to the throwing them in part, but okay, let's go skip some technology on the ocean." Marco said.  
  
"Wait just a sec," Rachel interrupted before we could all bombard out the door. "Cassie, didn't you say that the Yeerks were putting up scanners all over school?"  
  
"Yes, what are you saying?" Cassie asked, unsure.  
  
"Well, if this is anything like Terminator 2, we'll have to destroy all evidence of the technology, that means getting rid of ALL the scanners, and maybe even the instructions." Rachel explained. "Otherwise, they could create another one without so much as a blink."  
  
We all paused, soaking this in, then Jake said, "You're right. We'll need to get into the Yeerk pool where they almost undoubtedly keep the instructions, and if they aren't in there, we can just create a little havoc." We all nodded, and we all took a couple pieces of the now deceased scanner, myself taking one piece and Ax going human for the walk. I took to the air and followed them below.  
  
As we went, I listened to the conversation going on below me between Jake, Ax, and Marco.  
  
"Who do you think this new morpher is?" Jake queried casually, in a whisper though, in case there would be any listeners hiding somewhere.  
  
"Well, Tobias said that she's an Andalite mix." Marco said. "So maybe we have another Spock, I dunno."  
  
"Either way, she definitely wants to help us, but why all the secrecy? Why do whenever we try to strike up a conversation with her, she disappears?" Jake asked.  
  
"Maybe she just is shy, and just appears like we do." Ax said.  
  
"Well, I dunno, but she definitely is a threat to the Yeerks." Jake stated. "She can morph a raptor for crying out loud!"  
  
I can see the ocean up ahead you guys. I stated, as we got closer and  
  
closer to the shore. After we dumped these pieces, we could then begin our rampage against the Regieg counters.  
  
Chapter #9  
  
We were walking back from the ocean (yes, walking- we had morphed out in the forest and walked home, except me and Ax, of course) with me flying overhead when I noticed a girl running around nearby. Something about her struck me as, well, familiar somehow. I quickly said my goodbyes and flew off to investigate. It was very strange. She was just running around in circles in her bare feet- which was also strange as it was still winter and though the air was warm, the grass certainly wasn't. I circled overhead and looked at her carefully. I couldn't recognize her from anywhere, but there still was some sort of familiarity- I couldn't understand it. Suddenly she spoke, almost in a whisper.  
  
"I never knew grass could taste so good. To think I missed it all those years..." Bewildered, I flew off. Grass? Good? Andalites ate grass... could this girl be the mysterious morpher, who had an undistinguishable accent? I banked suddenly and flew back to where she had been, but she was gone, apparently done with her 'meal'. What kind of species could she possibly be? Some new alien we hadn't heard of? But she had an Andalite 'accent'. Sort of. It was too much for one hawk to sort out. I flew over the forest, deciding to leave it until later. Besides, I was hungry.  
  
The next day, I found Rachel and flew high enough above her not to attract attention, but close enough to keep my link.  
  
Are you going to try to find and disable the scanners? She nodded almost imperceptibly. What can I do? Rachel looked around, and risked speaking aloud. I flew down a little so as to hear easily.  
  
"We'll dump the scanners out by the Dumpsters." she whispered. "You can pick them up and dispose of them somewhere so they won't notice."  
  
I can do that. I said, swooping around in the cool morning air. I'll see if I can get Ax to help, too. Rachel nodded slightly again and started back off for school. I went straight up on a slowly rising thermal, surprising at such an early time in the day, when the air wasn't too hot. I headed out over the forest, Rachel and the other few scattered humans there shrinking into colored dots.  
  
That night, we all met at Jake's house, since Cassie's dad was going to be doing some things with the barn, we couldn't exactly meet there. The plan was go sneak in, tear down the scanners, hack them apart, then take them to the ocean once we had gotten them all. It was going to be one of those tense missions, where even a pin dropping sets you on end.  
  
"So, here we go, on another suicide mission." Marco stated. "This is really bad for my health, you realize that." We chuckled nervously, since this was, like I said, another one of those tense missions.  
  
"What are we going to use as the morph? Orph?" Ax asked, making extra sounds. Ax is an Andalite, which I have already stated. That means that they have no mouths, so having a mouth is like having the greatest toy in the world to them. Poor Ax, you don't even want to hear about his food frenzies.  
  
"Well, my guess is that we use our bird morphs, get in, then morph to something a little more dangerous." Jake explained. "It will be Marco and Ax doing the disabling, since they will be the only one among us with opposable thumbs."  
  
"Thank you very much." Marco replied, taking a bow.  
  
"Okay, you stage taker, let's go!" Rachel said. For once, Marco didn't make a remark about Xena, Warrior Princess. I can almost swear, for all this time, before we were Animorphs, there was an Amazon warrior inside her, just screaming to get out and cause a little havoc.  
  
We all (Well, not all, since I already was a bird, and Ax had to morph from human to Andalite to owl.) started to morph, and I shut my eyes, since morphing isn't exactly pretty. Only Cassie is the one who can make it look artistic. No offense to the others, but you don't even want to see some of the morphs we had to use that were really gross. They just have to let it fly, and each time we morph its somewhat different. I heard Marco chuckle once he could use thought-speak.  
  
What? I asked.  
  
I was just wondering, what would our reply be if someone came up and asked what we did in our spare time? I understood exactly what he was talking about. Everyone else finished up their morphs, and we flew out into the night sky, myself having to be guided by them since I didn't have a night bird morph.  
  
Chapter #10  
  
I wonder what would happen if a non controller found us? Marco queried as we went down the halls.  
  
We had snuck in through an open window, although it was a tight fit, since their wing spans were larger than the window.  
  
Let's see, he would probably have a heart attack and be scarred for life. Cassie replied. We laughed nervously. Marco was in his gorilla morph, myself as myself, Ax as an Andalite, Jake as a tiger, Cassie as a wolf, and Rachel as a bear. It would really drive a person insane if they saw us at the moment.  
  
Well, here we go, scanner number one. Rachel said as we found the first of the remote control shaped detectors.  
  
They shouldn't be activated yet. Ax said, I am guessing that they are run as a network.  
  
Well, good, I don't want any unexpected visitors. I replied. Not to mention, if one of those things go off, we're screwed.  
  
Marco reached up and plucked it from its perch on the wall. He brought it down and handed it to Ax. You may do the honors of the first Regieg scanner. It took only a moment for Ax to understand what he was saying, then FFWAP! FFWAP! FFWAP! FWAPP! the scanner was no more. He put the pieces into a bag that Jake was holding in his teeth.  
  
We took about an hour going through each of the halls, looking for any other scanners. We had collected about ten when we saw the last one, or at least I did.  
  
There! I cried. I think that that's the last one. We were walking towards it, and then we could call it a night.  
  
BWOOP BWOOP BWOOP BWOOP BWOOP! An ear piercing alarm rang through my head, and wouldn't stop if the world was coming to an end.  
  
Oh man! Cassie cried. Let's get out of here!  
  
This must be one that was activated individually. Ax reasoned, trying to keep his cool.  
  
Well, I don't care if it was activated while some fat guy was eating a jelly donut! Marco yelled over the alarm. Let's make like a tree and leave!  
  
"Hold it right there Andalites!" A voice hissed from behind us. "You won't get away this time!" I immediately recognized it as Chapman's voice. I turned around, and there were about ten Hork-Bajir, five Taxxons, and Chapman, all with Dracon beams aimed right at us. We turned around again and there were about five more Taxxons behind us now. We were totally and utterly trapped.  
  
Ax made a sort of growling noise and leapt forward. The Controllers backed up slightly, lifting their Dracon guns higher.  
  
Stop, Ax! I cried. You'll just get yourself killed! Reluctantly, the Andalite stepped back. Chapman lifted his weapon, and we were herded like, well, like animals to a math classroom, of all places. I looked around with mild surprise. I had always thought Mrs. Baknoor was very strange. Chapman went around behind her desk and did something we couldn't see, and a large portion of the floor opened up. The opening was utterly black, and I could hear screams coming from deep down. I knew instantly what it was. A doorway to the Yeerk pool.  
  
You see, the Yeerks have a weakness. They must absorb Kandrona rays, which they would normally get from their sun, every three days in order to survive. And they have to get out of their host's head to do so. That's why they made Yeerk pools- huge, horrible slimy things with thousands of Yeerks all sliming around together. The screams come from the involuntary hosts when they realize where they are. Not that they didn't know, but when they regain control of themselves again.  
  
That's where we knew we were headed when they pushed us into that hole.  
  
We fell.  
  
The hole was the top of a chute, and the chute led to a blank room. The chute was actually a dropshaft, Yeerk technology which was like an elevator without the elevator box. You think where you want to go, and the elevator takes you there.  
  
Only now we went where the Yeerks wanted us to go.  
  
We landed, and a horde of Controllers forced us into a too-small cage. Several times one of us tried to break free, but it was to no avail.  
  
We were really, and truly, stuck.  
  
Finally, we relaxed a bit, which means we stopped snarling at the Controllers.  
  
How much time? Cassie asked weakly.  
  
Half an hour. Ax said glumly.  
  
We're in for it now, folks! Marco moaned. We are doomed! Kaput! And that means Earth is doomed! Kaput!  
  
How many times have you said that in the past week, Marco? Rachel tried weakly to joke. I tried frantically to think of something reassuring or funny to say, and failed. We were sitting in gloom when suddenly there walked up to us an Andalite.  
  
Chapter #11  
  
Visser Three.  
  
He walked around the cage, grinning evilly as he seems to like to do.  
  
Well, my Andalite friends, it seems you are finally caught.  
  
We'll never surrender to you, Yeerk scum! Ax snarled. Visser Three cocked his head and thought.  
  
Why is it always you who talks, child, and none of the others? And why are you out of morph, while the others remain in these pitiful animal shapes? He glanced at me. I boiled but knew I could do nothing.  
  
Do you really think, Ax said carefully, That a handful of humans could be giving you all the trouble you're getting? We held our breath. The Visser thought.  
  
No. We sat back in relief. Of course not. But it is... odd. Very odd. Perhaps you are all children... Rachel apparently took that as an insult and threw herself against the bars. It was all she could do to keep from screaming insults at the Andalite standing calmly outside the bars. Temper, temper, my Andalite friend. After all, there is nothing you can do. Unless you have another one of your tricks up your sleeve? A monster to rescue you, perhaps? I thought suddenly of the mysterious rescuer. It would be the perfect time... but nothing happened. As I thought, the Visser brought out a small device. Speaking of tricks, I take it you've heard of our new little devices? We stared in horror. You seem to like chopping them up. It hurts my feelings. Absently, the Andalite-Controller pressed a button.  
  
GRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGG! Suddenly, a scene from the Lost World leapt around the corner. A gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex, sometimes called King of the Dinosaurs, slashed its way through the Hork-Bajir as if they were grass blades to a lawn mower. My heart leaped as the monster came up to a cowering Visser Three. But instead of slashing him to pieces, the T- Rex dropped something at the Visser's feet, then dashed back out to slash up some more Hork-Bajir. The Hork-Bajir were quickly becoming fewer, and not just because they were running off.  
  
I looked in interest at what the dinosaur had dropped at the Visser's feet. It was what appeared to be the shredded remains of a couple dozen Regieg scanners, along with something that looked like a blue cylinder, well crunched. The Visser ran his fingers through the debris, let out a moan, and headed for the doors like there was a T-Rex on his tail- which there was. The Controllers gone, the huge dinosaur came over to our cage and picked the lock. That is to say, is ripped the side open. We poured out, cautiously.  
  
Hurry! The dinosaur said simply, and I caught again that strange mix of accents. We hurried to the dropshaft.  
  
We flew towards the dropshaft, Jake tearing through a Taxxon who happened to be in our way. I followed the very huge T-rex towards the drop shaft, who enlarged it so she could fit through. School, I thought, but my thoughts were interrupted by a very large KABOOM! She had planted a bomb in the Yeerk pool! It didn't do much damage though, but I get the distinct feeling that about two or three uninhabited cages, and a portion of the Yeerk pool. Maybe some of the Yeerks were killed! I resumed my thought, and zoomed up the shaft. I saw Marco trying to "swim as he fell up.  
  
Ugh, I'll never get used to these dropshafts! He said as he floundered in the air. We got back to the school, which was a very tight fit, considering that our mysterious friend took almost all of the room. Cassie, Ax, and I got into the hallway, where we could make a little extra room. Everyone except Ax and I morphed out. Our friend stayed in her morph, unsure of what to do.  
  
Okay, that's it! Rachel said, still using thought speak. She was obviously tired with our friend coming and leaving, coming and leaving, even if she got us out of tight spots. Who are you? What are you? How can you morph dinos?  
  
Yes, if you are not an Ellimist, or an Andalite, then why do you help us? Ax asked.  
  
C'mon out with it! Marco said. You won't be able to leave with that bulk of a morph, and someone is sure to see you, so just morph out and get on with it! It's not like we're going to kill you.  
  
I could almost detect a toothy smile on that T-rex. Then she began to morph.  
  
At first, they were only little changes, then the actual demorphing began. The scales on the dinosaur began to melt together to create pink skin. She slowly sunk in size, going to about our size. The three claws on her puny arms began to become five fingers, while a blue leotard began to show through the scales. Auburn brown hair grew through the reptilian head, and twisted into a braid. Once she was finished, she had become human, with eyes closed. Then she opened her eyes, which were an incredible green. Then I noticed something. I looked at Ax, then at our friend. They both had the same green eyes. I don't know what it was, but I felt an attachment to this strange being.  
  
Chapter #12  
  
"You're--" Cassie said. "You're human!"  
  
"Half human actually." She said. "My name is Sara. I'm a half Andalite, half human being."  
  
All four of Ax's eyes bulged.  
  
But that's impossible! he hissed. Sara looked at him and sighed.  
  
"Well, I don't know the whole story, but apparently my father fell in love with a human and deliberately got stuck in human morph. Then he left, but before he did they had a kid. I don't know why he left or what happened to him. But somehow he erased all memory of himself from his wife, and she forgot him. But she had me. She remarried and then divorced the guy- he took me. I don't remember him much. He got killed when I was very little, and I got sent to an orphanage. I stayed there for five years, then Gran picked me up." We were all staring, openmouthed.  
  
"Uh, who's Gran?" Jake managed to ask. "Your grandmother?" She looked annoyed.  
  
"No. He's a nothlit, too. My father asked him to take care of me."  
  
"Wait a second!" Marco interrupted. "How do we know you're not a Controller?" Sara looked extremely irritated.  
  
"I just saved you from certain death, at the cost of many Controllers. Now, somehow I don't think that's something a Yeerk would want to do." Marco shrugged.  
  
"Yeah... I guess..."  
  
"Wait!" Cassie said. "How could you be half-Andalite? Your dad was in human morph- there shouldn't have been any Andalite traits passed on!" Sara looked pained.  
  
"I-I don't know. You'll have to ask Gran that. But I did get some traits- I can morph fast, morph extinct animals-"  
  
"We noticed." Rachel murmured softly. Sara continued.  
  
"Use thought-speak when not in morph, um-"  
  
Eat grass. I broke in. She looked at me in surprise.  
  
"Yes. I have to eat grass, as you say, once a week in order to get nutrients. How did you know that?"  
  
I saw you. I said. Yesterday. Suddenly we heard shouts from the nearby math classroom. We looked at each other, nervously.  
  
"Run!" Jake shouted. They made a dash for the door.  
  
Ax! I hissed. Come on! We hurried to a nearby classroom, where Ax morphed his human. Then we hurried out the back door, just in time. We could hear Controllers running in the halls. Glad to be free, we ran (and flew) toward the forest like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Wait a sec!" Sara called, once she realized where we were going. "It will take us forever to get to the forest. Come with me!" At first, we were all hesitant to follow her, unsure whether or not to trust her. Then, realizing the logic of the situation, we turned toward the direction she was leading us.  
  
"Hold on," Cassie said. "Ax probably needs to morph. He can't just go as an Andalite. People will definitely notice."  
  
"You're right." Jake agreed. "Ax, why don't you go behind those bushes over there, and hurry! The controllers will be coming at any moment, and notice us around."  
  
Ax acknoledged this, and dashed behind the bushes to morph. I followed to talk with Ax for a moment.  
  
Ax, do you get the feeling that there's something, important about her, aside from the obvious? I asked.  
  
No, not that I know of. Ax replied as he lost his stalk eyes. The only noticeably important thing about her is that she is a half-Andalite.  
  
Well, I feel something important about her. It's like, I've known her from somewhere. I replied.  
  
"C'mon, I want to get going-ing." Ax said, adding in the extra sounds he always uses.  
  
Don't do that, or someone is likely to notice. I hissed. I was nervous, and we might get caught.  
  
We came out again, Ax now as a human. I would fly a short distance up, since my eyesight was impaired by the darkness. They trotted slowly, since Ax hadn't had much experience with two legs still. Sara had to keep waiting for them since she kept leaping ahead. She was obviously very fast.  
  
Chapter #14  
  
In about half an hour, we managed to get to the location that Sara wanted us to go. It was a small house, that seemed right for only two people. Hadn't she said something about a guy named "Gran"?  
  
"C'mon in," Sara invited. She walked up and opened the door, then gestured towards us. "Hurry! The controllers will be patrolling this section any minute." We dashed inside, preparing for the worst.  
  
We walked inside to a warmly lit room, that was small, but comfortable. We crowded into the living room, that looked normal enough. A man walked down the stairs, and smiled.  
  
"Well Saramistrum," He said, "It seems you found some allies."  
  
"Hello Uncle Gran." Sara said, and then said, "Everyone, this is my Uncle, who raised me."  
  
"Pleased to meet you." he said politely.  
  
"Saramistrum?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Yes, that's the last part of my Andalite name, Wisteria-Delphini- Saramistrum." Sara replied. We all stared, and she said, "Don't even ask."  
  
"You're a nothlit? It?" Ax asked the person.  
  
Gran seemed to stare for a moment, not realizing the question, probably because of the extra sounds Ax added in. Then he said, "Oh, I understand, yes, I am."  
  
"Speaking of which," Sara said, "I don't know your names. I've been helping you all this time and we were never accquainted."  
  
"Maybe that has something to do with the fact that you kept dissapearing on us." Rachel said, almost sneering.  
  
"Sorry, but I didn't feel that I should let you know. I had only found out that I was an Andalite, and was still a little astounded." Sara replied.  
  
"Okay, I won't even ask." Marco said. "My name is Marco, cutest lookingguy in school, practical joker, etc," Sara listened to his blabber for a moment, then slapped her forehead, as if she already knew that Marco was a little on the arrogant side, but not in a bad way.  
  
"I'm Cassie." Cassie said, "Not much to say about me, except I'm the person who gets most of the animal morphs."  
  
Then Jake took the floor. "My name's Jake, supposed leader of our group, but not really."  
  
"You are too." Rachel said. Jake was about to protest, but she then said, "I'm Rachel, supposedly called Xena, Warrior Princess."  
  
"Speaking of which, you need a nickname." Marco said. "How 'bout Spock? Hey, you're half human." Sara stared at him like he was insane. Ignoring her, Marco continued. "Ookay, Spock it is."  
  
Then Ax stepped foreward, and said, "I am Aximili-Essarough-Istill, at the moment in morph."  
  
"Its nice to see another Andalite in the neighborhood." Gran said, "It's been a long time since I have been on the Andalite home world."  
  
Finally, it was my turn. I'm Tobias, I said, Not much more than that, except I'm stuck in my hawk form, but I can morph. Somehow, I didn't think this was enough. Have we met before? I get the distinct feeling I know you from somewhere. She stared back at me, with those incredible green eyes.  
  
I get the same feeling. she replied.  
  
"Well, enough of all this little chit-chat, Sara, be prepared to be launched into the war of the Yeerks against the little guerilla troop. You are going to be launched into one of the most hopeless wars ever fought." Jake said.  
  
"I already have." Sara said. And she was one of us. 


	2. Children of the Andalites Chapter 2: The...

The Rescue  
  
Chapter #1  
  
My name is Wisteria-Delphini-Saramistrum. My human name is Sara. That much I can tell you. To tell any more would be too dangerous. The Yeerks are everywhere, so we have to be very careful what we tell people. My friends and I are called the Animorphs. That's what Marco came up with, or so I'm told. You could probably call me the newcomer to the group. There are six others- Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, Tobias, and Ax. We are the only defense for Earth against the Yeerks- the Animorphs.  
  
I was going to Cassie's barn for one of our meetings. Rachel was going to meet me and then we would fly to Cassie's house. You're probably thinking what in the world would we be doing flying to Cassie's house? If that's the case then let me back up for a moment.  
  
My friends and I have the special power to morph into any animal we please as long as we can touch it and absorb their DNA. This is our only weapon against the Yeerks.  
  
The Yeerks are a species of aliens that take over the minds of other species. In their natural form they are nothing more than a rat-sized slug. They wrap themselves around their victims and take complete control of their minds. The terrible thing is that you are totally conscious of what is happening. Jake was a controller for them once. A Controller is anyone with a Yeerk in its head. There are Human controllers, Hork-Bajir controllers, Taxxon controllers, and so on. There is only one Andalite controller- Visser Three. He is our most lethal enemy, in control of the Yeerk invasion of Earth.  
  
That day I was sitting at our house waiting for Rachel. I was outside on the grass barefoot. I just love the taste of grass. Now you're probably wondering why I was eating grass. Well I wasn't. You see, I am half Andalite and half human. I didn't know my parents. So instead I live with Uncle Gran who was an Andalite but then he became human. The things I inherited from my Andalite parent were superior running abilities, using thought speak when not in morph, radiant green eyes, and having to eat grass through my feet. This means every week or so I have to eat a portion of grass to get certain nutrients.  
  
After a few minutes, Rachel appeared. She and Cassie are good friends of mine. In fact we are best friends. Rachel is one of those rare people that is drop-dead gorgeous. She is tall with long blond hair. She looks like one of those ditzy air-headed models until you get to know her. She is actually a good warrior, excellent at fighting.  
  
"Hi Sar," she said, "ready to go?"  
  
"Sure," I said "Let's go but let me get my purse."  
  
We then dashed inside and went up to my room. Our house is the only place we are safe from the Yeerks. I pulled down the blinds and pulled off my outer clothes to reveal a light blue leotard. We were ready to morph.  
  
"Okay," Rachel said, "Here we go again."  
  
I closed my eyes and concentrated. A benefit of the Andalite/human cross genes is that I can speed morph. Very quickly, I felt myself drop. My skin sprouted red and brown feathers and my teeth mushed together to form a beak. In about 15 seconds, I had become a red tailed hawk. I opened my now very keen eyes and saw Rachel about halfway through her bald eagle morph. In about 30 seconds she was finished.  
  
What took you?I said in thought speak.  
  
Ha ha very funny. Rachel replied  
  
We flew out my window and took to the air.  
  
Chapter #2  
  
Two birds of prey landed with a whoosh in a pile of old hay, scattering feathers.  
  
Nice landing! perked up Tobias.  
  
Humph. I muttered. easy for you to say. Rachel ignored him. She was busy unmorphing.  
  
" So, what's the big news?" she asked as soon as she had a mouth. I followed her example and we went to sit in the circle where the rest of the Animorphs were waiting for us.  
  
There are five others in our group. I took my usual place next to Cassie, my other best friend. She is kind of dreamy and loves animals. I think she likes animals more than she likes most people. Her dad runs a wildlife rehabilitation center in the barn. That's where we get most of our morphs. Cassie is our animal expert and the best morpher. I may be a very quick morpher but Cassie can make it almost an art form-very pretty and artistic.  
  
Next to her is Jake, called Prince Jake by Ax. He is sort of our leader in a way. He is stockily built, with brown hair. Jake is generally very serious, but he knows when to laugh. Jake is Rachel's cousin. I sort of feel sorry for him because his brother, Tom, is one of them.  
  
Next to him is ever so cocky Marco, also Jake's best friend. They have known each other since they were both in diapers. He is short, with short hair which supposedly used to be longer. He is a huge joker that can find a joke in everything. I think that without him, we would all go insane from the risks we have to take.  
  
If you looked any farther and did not pay any attention to a word I have said, you would have dropped dead away because next was Ax, also known as Aximili-Essarough-Istill. He is an Andalite stranded on Earth. To describe an Andalite, think of a deer with the head and torso of a human; similar to a mythical centaur. Now dip that creature in blue and tan paint, give it a scorpion tail, take its mouth, give it stalk eyes, and very green eyes. Voila, an Andalite. He is Prince Elfangor's younger brother. Ax lives in the woods behind Cassie's barn with Tobias.  
  
Tobias came down from the rafters and landed squarely on my shoulder. Tobias is a hawk now, but he used to have very dreamy eyes, hair that's always a mess, and a tendency to be a bully target. He stayed a hawk for more than 2 hours, the deadly time limit for a morph, so now he is a red- tailed hawk. Tobias just recently got the ability to morph again and got his human form again. I don't know what it is, but I feel somewhat attracted to him, but not in the way you think. Its almost brotherly.  
  
Everyone looked at Jake, who looked at Ax. Ax looked uncomfortable.  
  
We have a problem." he began.  
  
"Oh really." Marco said sarcastically. "I thought we were coming here to discuss the new movie coming out this Friday. As if we ever do that anymore, between saving the world and saving the world again."  
  
Rachel looked like she was about to make some sharp remark, but before she could speak Ax looked at Marco in astonishment.  
  
How did you guess? It seems the Yeerks have been getting a decrease in the number of new Sharing inductees, and they have come up with another method to get bodies. He paused a moment.  
  
"Well? Well?" Cassie urged with a mixture of excitement and fear.  
  
They transmit thought waves through a visual display, what you call a movie. The screen shows a certain mixture of colors that causes complete hypnosis. When all the audience is out, Human-controllers will walk the aisles, placing a Yeerk by each person's ear. In less than a minute- the Andalite broke off, overcome with fury.  
  
" There'll be a whole auditorium of human-controllers, and more with each showing!" I concluded with amazement.  
  
"Exactly," Jake said  
  
"So what are we to do about it?" Rachel asked "I mean, it's not a good idea to just waltz in and say Hi, we're here to stop the movie theater so get out now!"  
  
"Ooh," Marco exclaimed, "and this is coming from Xena: Warrior Princess."  
  
"Hmm," I said. While Rachel and Marco fought, I was in deep thought.  
  
Cassie says that whenever I get a crazy idea, which usually happens, my eyes glow even more than their usual green. This was happening at that very moment.  
  
Uh oh, Tobias said Hey, idea alert idea alert. You guys, Sara has an idea.  
  
"Oh boy," Marco said "Okay Sara out with it. Let's hear it." I frowned at Marco, thinking hard.  
  
"What if we sneak into the theater, in morph of course, find the projection room, and get rid of the phoney movies. Then the Yeerks won't have their movies any more and people will be saved, even if they don't see Star Wars. Well what do you think?" Everyone turned expectantly to Rachel. She grinned.  
  
"Let's do it!" she yelled and sighed in thought-speak to me. We always know Rachel will go for our insane ideas. If she doesn't, we've got something to worry about.  
  
"Well," Marco said," I'd hate to disagree with Xena here, so I'm for it." The rest of us nodded consent.  
  
"Hey," Cassie added, " It sounds almost easy compared to some of the jobs we've done. No Hork-Bajir, for example. Or Taxxons."  
  
Darn, Tobias said in mock disappointment. I was really looking forward to slashing up some of those disgusting worms.  
  
"So, when is the first showing?" I asked Ax.  
  
" Five minutes." he said calmly.  
  
"Five minutes?!" we all shrieked.  
  
"Let's get going! Rachel cried. Cassie was already halfway into her osprey morph.  
  
"Hey, wait up!" I said to Cassie. In about 5 seconds I was at the same point as she was in morphing to my red tail hawk morph. I don't know what it is, but Tobias always gets nervous whenever I use this morph. Maybe it's because my morph is female. I don't know. By the time I was finished with my morph, the others will still about a quarter through their morph except for Cassie who was almost done.  
  
Okay Spock, Marco said, Show me how you morph so fast. Spock is Marco's nickname for me due to my Andalite half.  
  
Sorry, classified information. I said with an invisible smirk.  
  
Chapter #2  
  
After everyone was in morph, we caught a thermal outside and flew as fast as we could to the movie theater.  
  
Moments later, a strange assortment of birds that would have shocked any birdwatcher landed behind a Dumpster in the back of the movie theater and quickly morphed back into their true shapes. All except Tobias, that is. Then we morphed into flies and set off for the entrance. Tobias was growling in frustration.  
  
Anyone see any bugs I can acquire? he called out. We were busy zipping about in glee. Being a bug has its pleasures.  
  
WHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! WHHHHOOOOOOPPPP- Oh, sorry, Tobias. There's a fly- wait... Jake, is that you? I called in thought-speech. There was no reply from the fly in question. Go for it, Tobias! I shrieked, doing a double flip. He flew carefully toward the insect and snatched it delicately with a talon, descending to earth.  
  
Go ahead! he cried. I'll catch up.. Soon a fly buzzed through a door along with a large family. He joined us and we flew toward theater 3, which had 'Return of the Jedi: Now Showing' glowing above the double doors. We were waiting to slip in when Cassie cried out in dismay. Look! she cried. Theater 2! We looked, and saw with shock that theater 2 was showing "The Empire strikes Back".  
  
Ax, I said nervously, Do you happen to know WHICH Star Wars movie the Yeerks were using as their coverup?  
  
Uh... said Ax. I sighed.  
  
Well, that's just peachy! said Marco in annoyance. What are we supposed to do, just hop into one of the projection rooms and ask, 'Hey! Are you a Yeerk, or what?' ? I don't think so!  
  
We have to split up, said Jake. Rachel, Tobias, Sara- you go to Return of the Jedi. Cassie, Ax, Marco- you're with me. If you see C-3PO instead of swirling Yeerk treachery, get to our theater as quickly as you can. Let's go! We slipped in with a red-headed teenager, and as the door shut, Ax called after us-  
  
Don't look straight at the colors if you see them! Look out of the corner of your eye! but could not tell if his cries had been heard.  
  
Did Ax say something? Rachel asked  
  
I don't know, I replied Something about not looking directly at the screen. We better follow his advice.  
  
My compound eyes saw a door as we were going towards the theater. When looking through the eyes of a fly, everything is broken up, like watching millions of tiny TV sets forming one picture. I could just barely read out: PROJECTION ROOM CINEMA 3.  
  
Hey over here! I yelled I think this is it!  
  
Okay, well let's go! Rachel said. She never fails to turn down a mission.  
  
We all veered up the stairs. There was a crack in the wall that we flew through. It was a dark hallway, but we finally reached the projection room. It was dark, and full of movies, old and new. We all morphed out, with Tobias back in his hawk body. I got out of my fly morph as fast as I could. Being a fly is fun, but there is a picture in the back of my head that shows me on the sports section, literally.  
  
This must be where they show those old film festivals. Tobias remarked. Look at all these old movies.  
  
"Well, let's get to work, Rachel." I said. No reply. "Rachel?"  
  
Rachel was just staring at the screen through the window in the projection room. I looked at her eyes. The irises were completely swallowed up by her pupils. She was just staring. Then I remembered Ax's warning: Don't look directly at the screen. Rachel had looked.  
  
"Tobias," I said, fear in my voice. "Don't look at the screen. It got Rachel." But Tobias had been swallowed up too. "NO, not you too!" I was hysterical with fear. I was alone, with the possibility of a controller walking through at any moment.  
  
I very carefully turned and stared at the wall. I focused on the screen out of the corner of my eye. Indeed, there was an array of colors, swirling. It was tempting to just turn and take the full blast of the hypnosis, just to watch the colors swirl. But I fought it and turned my attention on Tobias.  
  
"Tobias!" I said, desperate. "Tobias wake up!" I shook him, trying to snap him out of it, but it was no use. I had one last chance.  
  
Tobias, I said through thought-speak. It was the only way I could speak to him that I could think of that he would hear me. I know you can hear me. Please, wake up. You must try, I can't do this alone. I know your unconscious mind can hear me. Fight, Tobias, fight!  
  
For a moment nothing happened, then the hawk shook himself and staggered.  
  
OOOOHHHH, my head. he said. I just wanted to pick him up and hug the poor bird, but I had to shut down the projector. Time was running out.  
  
Chapter #3  
  
"Okay, Tobias, you rest, but I will have a job for you in a moment. I would try to get Rachel out of the hypnosis, but there's no time. The controllers will be walking down the aisles any moment."  
  
While Tobias rested, I concentrated on the projector. It was a new model, fairly simple to operate. I opened it up, and ripped the tape. I know it sounds silly, but I was mad at the Yeerks for hypnotizing my friends. The picture stopped abruptly stopped, just as the controllers were walking down the aisles. As far as I could tell, there were no new controllers in the audience. As the picture stopped, everyone woke up, so to speak, including Rachel.  
  
"Whoa, what happened?" she asked "I was just out of morph and I saw a really pretty picture on the screen. I just watched it, until now."  
  
"Let's just say you were getting very sleepy." I said with a laugh. I then got the tape out of its projector and set it in front of Tobias, Rachel, and I. "Okay," I said, "Let 'er rip!"  
  
We all tore into the tape as much as we could. It had to be totally destroyed, so there would be no more infestations via movie. Within two minutes, we had it so there would be no way anyone could play it again.  
  
"Okay, c'mon" I said, nervous, "Let's go before the controllers get here. The Controllers saw the film stop. They'll be here at any moment."  
  
We all morphed into bugs as fast as we could. Just as we were all done, the controllers came in. Unfortunately, they noticed us as well.  
  
"There! the three flies!" one said "The Andalite Bandits!"  
  
"Get them!" another said. A shower of hands came down around us.  
  
Let's go! Tobias yelled. We all flew out of there as fast as we could. The controllers tried to keep up, but hey! You know how hard it is to catch a fly. We headed for theater 2 to join up with Jake, Cassie, and the others.  
  
Chapter #4  
  
We didn't have to go very far, because coming the other way was a group of Controllers that were swatting papers at some more flies.  
  
Is that you guys? I yelled out.  
  
No, its the fly acrobats extraordinaire! Marco called out. OF COURSE IT'S US!!!! NOW LET'S GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE BECOME FLY PATE'!!!!  
  
Unfortunately the controllers were blocking the door to the outside. Everywhere there were controllers, including some Hork-Bajir. Apparently, all of the normal humans were out of the building. There was no way to get out. If we tried, we would be greeted by a volley of hands and fly swatters. A man stepped out of the crowd and looked at us mockingly.  
  
"Ah my little Andalite Bandits, having some difficulty?" It was the voice of our worst enemy, Visser Three. He had discovered us and was going to finish it now. However, I had other plans.  
  
Everyone, the way we got into the projection room was through a crack in the wall. We can go in there to morph into some more dangerous animals. I yelled.  
  
It's the best chance we've got Jake said, Let's move!  
  
We flew as fast as we could. The Controllers were going as fast as they could, but we were faster, due to the fact that they were trying to keep everything clean to show no clues to their intrusion. We got to the crack and morphed out as fast as we could. I was out of my morph in about three seconds, I was so scared.  
  
Lock the door! Jake yelled. I practically flew to the door and turned the lock.  
  
I then started focusing on a new morph. Since I'm half Andalite, I can morph deceased animals as long as I have a piece of genuine DNA. This includes dinosaurs. You don't want to know how I got dinosaur DNA.  
  
Chapter #5  
  
I started to grow a little as I reached about 6 feet high. My skin grew leathery as my backbone stretched into a tail. My head grew to accommodate my huge brain. The last touch was when a huge claw sprouted out of my big toe. Then, I had become a vicious velicoraptor. Everyone was morphing to fight the controllers. Ax morphed back to himself because he can do a lot of damage as an Andalite. Tobias stayed a hawk, Marco morphed a gorilla, Jake became a tiger, and Cassie and Rachel became wolves. Rachel would have been an elephant, but they are too big.  
  
Welcome...to Jurassic Spock. Marco said to me. Can you open doors too?  
  
Yes. I said bluntly.  
  
Oh..Uh okay. he replied. We all had to laugh. We would need it in afew minutes.  
  
Nothing like a little bluntness to stop Marco's jokes. Rachel said  
  
Okay everyone, Jake said try not to kill any of the controllers. They might be someone's auntie or uncle.  
  
Right, I said Let's go!  
  
Uh oh, Marco said Hey Xena, I think we found Gabrielle.  
  
Stop it Marco. Rachel said, tense They are starting to break down the door. Indeed, we could hear pounding on the other side of the door. We stopped talking and got ready for battle.  
  
Nothing happened. No Controllers knocked down the door. No hand-held Dracon beams or, even worse, flypaper lashed out at us.  
  
What's going on? asked Cassie.  
  
Shh! I responded. I hear something....it's the manager! Even though the Controllers had tried to be quiet, the theater's manager had noticed the noise and come to investigate. we listened through the splintering door.  
  
"Awright, boys, what's the problem? I let ya have this theater special to show yer little 'Star Guns' thing or whatever it's called, an' now I find a theater full of confused an' angry people who look like they were hit over the head with a sledgehammer, an' you guys breakin' up my door! What gives? Do ya wanna be thrown out?"  
  
He's not a Controller! Jake thought gleefully.  
  
It seems the Yeerks forgot something. said Ax grimly. They didn't-  
  
Shhhhh! Marco broke in. Somebody's talking!  
  
"We are dreadfully sorry for the problem, sir." one of the Controllers spoke up with barely contained hatred. " You see-"  
  
"We have to get in there!" suddenly a voice broke out with urgency. "There are dangerous animals loose in the projection room, and-"  
  
"I see." the manager interrupted. "Animals, huh. Whatever you say. Now, why don't ya boys run along. Come with me and you'll be able to rest in a nice, cool cell. It might get rid of some of these crazy ideas you seem to have."  
  
"No!" cried the voice that had broken in. "Please! Just look in the room, and you'll see. Hurry!"  
  
"Well, all right," grumbled the manager. "But don't try anything funny..."  
  
Hurry! I cried. Hide behind something and morph back! We morphed as quickly as we could, then into our various bug shapes so we could easily hide. The manager was turning the key in the lock as I finished morphing into my fly. But not everyone was done yet. Ax was a shrunken Andalite with a fly's head and two fly legs. Rachel was done. Cassie was a gross bug of unidentifiable origin. Jake and Marco were almost finished. Tobias, not used to morphing, was still a hawk.  
  
I can't do it! he cried. I'm so tired!  
  
Sure you can! I shrieked. You have to!  
  
I can't! he moaned.  
  
Hide! hissed Rachel. You're small enough!  
  
At that moment the door swung open to reveal Tobias trying to edge behind a box. Scared out of his wits, he still had the sense to act like a hawk. Shrieking, he flew frantically around the room. The manager looked condescendingly at the Controllers entering the room.  
  
"Well, I'll admit there's somethin' here, but it ain't enough to break down a door for. Awright, I'll let ya off this time, if you can help me capture this bird and release it outside." A Controller looked at Tobias with mixed disbelief and fury.  
  
"Why don't we just kill it?" he asked with contempt. "Much easier and quicker." The manager looked at him in shock.  
  
"I happen to like animals, buddy. You ain't doin' anything to that there bird, not while I'm around." The Controller looked at him with interest.  
  
"Yeerk," he whispered to his companion, who carefully pulled something brown and slimy from a pouch at his hip. Tobias saw.  
  
"SSSSSSSSSSSKKKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" he screamed down at the luckless Controller, who froze. Tobias grabbed the Yeerk in his talons and shrieked out the door with it. Unnoticed, six bugs followed.  
  
Chapter #7  
  
We flew at top speed on Tobias's back back to Cassie's barn. We were praying that there would be no birdwatchers out and see a red tailed hawk holding a huge slug. Eventually, we got back and crawled out of our morphs. All that rapid morphing had made us all extremely tired. Believe me, morphing takes a lot out of you.  
  
After I got out of my fly morph, I collapsed on the floor. Tobias attempted to land on my shoulder but missed and landed in my lap. I gently took the writhing Yeerk from his talons and handed it to Ax. Just touching it made me very queasy. Then I got an idea.  
  
"Ick," Marco said "so now we have a foot long slug."  
  
Cassie then perked up. "Can this thing hear us?" she asked tensely.  
  
I don't believe so. Ax said. I could tell that he just wanted to crush the slug. Extensive research has not been conducted.  
  
"So what do we do with this thing?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Well, I know one thing we can use it for." I said "Ax, give me the Yeerk."  
  
He handed it to me, and I held it in my hands for a moment before closing my eyes and concentrating. I started to acquire the slug's DNA. Acquiring takes a lot of concentration, but it can be done. Frankly, I thought it was really gross, but we may need a Yeerk in the  
  
future, and this may be our only chance to get it.  
  
"Good thinking Sara," Jake said, "but it still leaves the problem of what to do with it."  
  
"I say we kill it." Rachel said bluntly.  
  
Cassie's eyebrows went up.  
  
"I have an idea." she said. "We've killed too many Yeerks to count, right?" I shivered inwardly. I will never get used to killing.  
  
"Right," I answered with an inaudible sigh. Cassie continued.  
  
"So, why don't we leave this Yeerk to some people who haven't had the same luck we've had?" she cringed as she said this. Cassie doesn't like killing any more than I do.  
  
"Who who who who who?" Marco asked impatiently. Cassie glared at him.  
  
"If certain owls would shut up, maybe I'd tell you." she snapped. Cassie had had a long day. "You remember those Hork-Bajir we freed not too long ago? How about we let them have a go?"  
  
"Let's go!" cried Rachel, talons already appearing on her feet and down sprouting out of her arms. Minutes later, we dropped a squirming Yeerk in front of the two Hork-Bajir. To our surprise, Jara Hamee, the Hork-Bajir we had rescued not too long ago, leapt up with fury and fear in his strange eyes. Before we could stop him, Jara Hamee had sliced the Yeerk neatly into two.  
  
He looked satisfied.  
  
"Well, that's one less Yeerk." Jake said.  
  
"And one more morph." I added with a smirk.  
  
"Jara Hamee kill Yeerk!" Jara said. "Yeerks no take Jara Hamee again! Safe in valley with Ket."  
  
"Well, okay," Marco said, "so now that we have a new morph, we will obviously be using it immediately. So what is the plan?"  
  
"What about..." I paused.  
  
"Next idea!" Cassie said.  
  
"Since we have found that Yeerks can take over the bodies of other beings, why don't we use my morph to find out how to fight the control. The we can sneak into the Yeerk pool, get to the imprisoned beings, and secretly tell them how to fight. The only problem is that one of us will need to be my host to find out how to fight."  
  
"Sounds good, Sara." Jake said. "You'll need a host though, like you said. Since I've been a controller, I'll help."  
  
"Okay, let's try this out." Marco said, "Jara, don't go salad shooting Sara now, okay."  
  
"Jara Hamee will not hurt Animorph. Animorph will free more Hork-Bajir."  
  
Jara said with a smile.  
  
"We sure hope so Jara." Rachel said.  
  
"Here goes nothing." I said.  
  
I closed my eyes and concentrated. The first thing I felt was falling, extreme falling. Then all my bones went to mush. My sight dimmed, then vanished completely. My skin became slimy and gray. I braced myself for the conscious mind of the Yeerk. This Yeerk was strong, but  
  
I managed to beat it down. During the fight, I managed to learn the Yeerk's name- Franon-nine-three-four.  
  
You were right Sara. Tobias said. You became nothing.  
  
Haha very funny. Why don't you try morphing a Yeerk sometime then? Then you can beat down its mind. I said.  
  
Ax then picked me up and placed me next to Jake's ear.  
  
Ready? I asked  
  
"Ready," he replied. I could tell he was just as nervous as I was.  
  
I crawled into his ear and traveled to his brain. Frankly, it totally grossed me out, but we needed to find a weakness in the Yeerk.  
  
Still with me Jake? I asked  
  
Yeah, barely. he replied. I was at his conscious mind, so I could hear his thoughts.  
  
Okay, Jake, I said, now try to stop me. I will try to gain control. I could feel Jake trying to repel me, but I was still more powerful. Hmm, I said. What about if we had a normal fight between human and Yeerk? I will attempt to get motor control while you try to stop me. He tried, with all his might, but I could still get control. As I thought, I noticed a small fear within the Yeerk. It was afraid of the brain section where the instincts were kept. Jake, I said Listen carefully. I found a place in the brain where the Yeerk is afraid. Its the place where instincts are held. Try to use that against me. I could feel him struggle hard, which is understandable. Most cannot access that part of the brain. As he worked, I felt him gain strength. Suddenly, I had no control whatsoever! The Yeerk was repelled out of Jake's brain! I fell with a thump onto the grass. We found it! I shrieked while I morphed. We found the Yeerk's weakness!  
  
Chapter #8  
  
Minutes later, we were at the Yeerk pool beneath the mall. I was in Jake's head, in control. He couldn't use our new knowledge to stop it because then our cover would be blown. Nervously, we stopped near the entrance and started thinking.  
  
What about Tom? Jake worried. If he's there, will notice me. He might be able to tell if I wasn't truly under control. I need to morph. I thought hard.  
  
There's no way, I said, That we can just grab someone. We'll have to disguise you. We went into a costume store and bought a makeup kit. Luckily Jake had brought money. As we were on our way to the restroom to apply it, I spoke up.  
  
This is so cool, I said.  
  
What? Jake whispered.  
  
I've never been in the boys' bathroom before. I replied. Jake blushed.  
  
"Just one of the privileges of being an Animorph, I guess," he muttered. Being embarrassed, he forgot to speak to me as a host. He was able to do this because I had relinquished control being out of the Yeerk pool. A tall boy with greasy black hair in spikes and a walkman on his ears turned toward us.  
  
"Ya talkin' to me, boy?" he asked.  
  
"No," Jake said, "Just talking to myself." The boy shook his head and began walking. " "Maniac," he muttered.  
  
What an idiot! Jake remembered to speak silently. "I'm not the maniac, he- Hey! What's wrong, Sara?"  
  
He was a Controller, I said in shock. We turned into the bathroom. Jake went into a stall and I slipped away from his brain and sat on top of the toilet paper.  
  
"How," said Jake, "Did you know he was a Controller?" He began to put on the makeup.  
  
I don't know, I replied. I guess if I really concentrate, I can see it. I could see the Yeerk inside his head!  
  
"You're kidding right?" Jake replied. But I wasn't. I was concentrating on the weird guy, and then I saw a Yeerk in his head, all slimy and wrapped around his brain. "This could be good." he said. Then we will know when people are Controllers or not."  
  
Maybe, I replied. Anyway, could you leave the stall for a moment? I need to morph out. I know what you are going to say, I'll be careful and keep my feet on the toilet seat so no one can see me. He left to finish his makeup while I rested for a moment.  
  
"Ready?" Jake whispered to me.  
  
"Yeah," I replied. "just give me a moment to morph and unlock the door." I unlocked the door, and then went back into my very disgusting Yeerk morph. When Jake opened the door, he saw a Yeerk sitting on the toilet paper again. He leaned over so I could slide back in his ear.  
  
So do you know where the entrance is? I asked.  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "Its in that dressing room, like before. I guess no one really cared that time because one Taxxon isn't much of a loss to them."  
  
Okay, I replied as we went to the dressing room. Listen carefully. When we get in there, you pretend to be a voluntary controller. That way, we can sneak in better. You let me out into the pool and I'll go into the next involuntary controller and get over to the cages. Then I'll secretly tell them the Yeerks' weakness and get out of there quickly. Then you'll go to the bathroom or something and morph into a bug. We'll meet up outside.  
  
"Now you're sounding to sound like me." Jake said. "Here's the dressing room." He grabbed a shirt and went into the dressing room. "Let's see if I remember how to do this." He found the entrance and we went down.  
  
This was my first time in a Yeerk pool and it totally freaked me out. You first hear the gentle sound of waves which is kind of soothing, then you hear the screams of innocent people being made into controllers. They cut into me like a knife. I shuddered inside Jake's brain.  
  
"Horrible isn't it?" He said.  
  
Okay, let's make this expeditious. I said.  
  
We walked down to the pier, and Jake let me off. This was where I was really alone. The Yeerk pool was really weird. There were what seemed to be thousands of Yeerks around me, all swimming in this gunk. I acted like them, and made my way to the infesting pier. There was a person being infested at the moment, so I decided to wait for the next person. A person's head was shoved in, and I made a beeline for it. I managed to get in before this person's Yeerk came.  
  
I slithered in, and the person came out gagging, swearing at me. The voice was vaguely familiar, so I did a quick check of his memory. I know it was nosy, but I got the distinct feeling that this person had to be saved desperately. I saw many files with Jake in them. That, I thought, was weird. Then, the thought hit me like lightning. I was in Tom, Jake's big brother.  
  
Tom? I asked. He stopped struggling. No, no, keep struggling, they might know something's up. Listen, I'm here to help you. I'm the newest Andalite bandit, the velociraptor that you saw. Listen, I will help you, but you need to do exactly as I say.  
  
Tom tried to control his feelings. But he was miserable, confused, and in great emotional pain as well.  
  
"No!" he cried. "You lie!"  
  
Shut up! I shrieked in his head, putting a little of the Yeerks' will into it. I wouldn't have been so harsh, but five Taxxons and a human were heading our way. Tom jerked and collapsed on the floor. The human had pushed him.  
  
"Who lies, fool? Tell us, quietly. We don't want to be heard by the happy shoppers." I thought of (and heard) the screams of the humans tricked into joining the Sharing and consequently put on the waiting list to be Controlled, and I knew this was just a ploy to scare Tom. Before I could will him not to speak, the words squeezed out.  
  
"Yeerk....in.....head.....says.....is.....Andalite.." The Taxxons leapt up and looked as if they were about to rip me out of Tom's head, but the human stopped them with a wave of his hand. It occurred to me then that this human must be some important person, just to order the Taxxons around so easily. I searched my brain, the Yeerks' brain. The Yeerk knew this human! I reached into the mind and tried to find the information.  
  
The human looked into Tom's eyes.  
  
"Well, my little slug brother, it seems your host thinks your are an Andalite bandit. I suggest you come out of his head before I blast you both to smithereens." He took out a Dracon gun. Tom stirred, coming to his senses.  
  
"No......Visser....."  
  
At that moment it came to me. Of course! Visser Three! Our most hated enemy, who had only recently acquired a human morph. I nearly started hissing insults at him, but remembered the possibility that the Yeerk would be able to tell if I was an Andalite, human or Yeerk by hearing my thought- speak. I stayed silent and stayed put. The Visser raised the Dracon beam. Tom closed his eyes and I sent a silent goodbye to all the Animorphs. I was on Marco when I suddenly had an idea. With a flash I took control of Tom's mind, leapt up and knocked the Visser over. I (Tom) grabbed the Dracon gun and ran off, firing wildly at any Taxxon or suspicious human I saw. As I ran I (Tom) shouted,  
  
"Humans! Listen to me! Access the instincts part of your brain! The Yeerks are afraid of instincts! I AM WORKING TO SAVE YOU ALL- US ALL! " I don't know what possessed me to say that last bit, but I don't think the Yeerks were listening very hard. Tom and I dashed up to the entrance. I (Tom) quickly dashed into another dressing room stall and locked the door. I practically leapt out of Tom's brain and demorphed. He gaped at me. Tom was panting and completely confused and lost.  
  
"You're.....not.....Andalite..." he gasped out. I nodded.  
  
"I know!" I said. "Hurry! You go on and mingle with the crowd. I'll meet you at Natural Wonders." he hesitated. "Please!" I cried. "You have to help me! The human-controllers will come up soon, and they'll shoot you on sight!" He hesitated a moment, then left. I sighed with relief and quickly became a bug. Luckily I still had energy left from my adrenaline rush from the fight. As soon as I was morphed, I set off to find Jake. When I told him of my rescue, his compound eyes nearly burst out of his little fly head.  
  
I thought it was Rachel that did that kind of thing, he said. I guess Marco was right about Gabrielle. I ignored him.  
  
Jake, I said, I left Tom at Natural Wonders. We need to get there fast. The controllers will be here in any moment.  
  
Okay, he replied. I could tell he was nervous. Jake wanted his brother back, badly. go into the girl's bathroom and morph out. I'll go to the boys' bathroom. Get Tom, then meet me outside by Barnes & Noble. I'll stay out of sight or Tom will know that I am another "Andalite bandit."  
  
Okay, go! I yelled and flew at top speed for the bathroom. I morphed out at lightning speed and dashed for Natural Wonders. Well, not really, but I did walk fast. Once I got there, I wandered in nonchalantly and pretended to look at the gardening stuff. I saw Tom over by the music rack, every few moments jerking around to see who was watching.  
  
Tom, I said in thought speak, Over here, by the gardening stuff. Wander your way over here.  
  
He jerked to see me shocked to see me use thought speak, and came over. "Hi, Tom!" I said, doing my best to look surprised to see him.  
  
"Uh, hi, uh,"  
  
Sara! I whispered.  
  
"Uh yeah, uh hi Sara."  
  
"Hey! Did you see the sale over at Barnes and Noble?"  
  
"Um, no, I didn't." He was catching on quickly.  
  
"Why don't we go check it out?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
All we needed to do now was get outside and get to the bookstore across the street. Jake would meet us outside the store. Then my Uncle would pick Tom up in disguise of course across the street. Jake and I would morph into our birds and get back. We wandered outside where I saw Jake, still in his disguise.  
  
"Hi Jack!" I said to Jake. Even though we had no intention of losing Tom, it would be safer to use an alias for Jake, just until Tom was safe.  
  
"Hi Sar!" he called back, and walked over. I could tell that he was virtually crawling out of his skin with happiness for seeing Tom free.  
  
"Going to B&N?"  
  
"Yep. Care to come along?"  
  
"Sure." We started to walk over to the book store, with a very confused Tom. When we got there, we all went to the magazines carefully looking for my uncle. We stayed near the window, so if he came, we could get out of there in a hurry.  
  
Tom, I said in thought speak. I wanted to tell him the plan. In a few minutes my uncle will be here with the car. You will dash out when I say so and get in the car. He will drive you back to your house. Jack and I will follow.  
  
"Um, how can-- how can you use thought speak?" Tom asked. I understood how he felt.  
  
I'm half Andalite. Its one of those genetic things. Don't worry, it's actually a pretty powerful weapon. Wait a sec, is that his car? I had seen my Uncle's car pull up to the parking lot. However, it would take a moment. There was a block at the lot. The Yeerks had probably anticipated that Tom could not just fly away and so were not letting any cars in. Now the fun began.  
  
"Sara," Jake said with much fear in his voice. "I think that that clerk is a controller. I could almost swear that he was holding a dracon beam. Can you check him?"  
  
"I'll try." I replied uneasily and began to concentrate really hard. It took me a moment, but I then got a clear image of the clerk's head. There was a Yeerk wrapped around his brain. "Controller!" I hissed.  
  
"Hey Jack," I said picking up a really heavy hardcover. "I hear that this is a good book."  
  
"That book?" he replied, playing along. "Its terrible!" The controller was now a couple of steps away.  
  
"I know." I smirked and then knocked the controller's dracon beam away. Immediately we were overrun by controllers.  
  
I thought fast.  
  
"Aaaaugh! Help! I'm being mugged!" I shrieked. The customers looked up in shock. They had not noticed us being attacked- the Controllers worked quietly.  
  
"What a day to leave my mace at home!" I moaned, grabbing the dracon beam from where it lay wedged between my arm and the floor. A large man wrestled the confused Controllers away from us and helped me up. Jake was rubbing his arm and Tom had a bruise or two, but they seemed all right.  
  
"Are you okay, miss?" the man asked. I looked at him and concentrated. He was clear.  
  
He's not a controller, I confided to Tom and Jake, while answering my okayness to the man. I thanked him. He looked relieved.  
  
"Just think, muggers in my own bookstore! My own staff, too!" I realized he was the manager. Jake nodded.  
  
"They got careless, didn't they?" he murmured thoughtfully. I started. Tom was looking at Jake in what might be recognition.  
  
Jake-o, I muttered nervously, Your makeup is smeared from the fight. I suggest you leave- fast. Jake glanced up at Tom, nodded ever so slightly, then left, glancing wistfully at Tom.  
  
Go! I hissed, so sharply the manager looked at me in surprise.  
  
"Did you say something?" he asked. I blinked.  
  
"Just thinking out loud," I said. "Will they be arrested?" I added, motioning toward the Controllers. The manager nodded.  
  
"Yes, and- why, here come the police right now!" I glanced up in shock. Through the door walked three uniformed policemen and one policewoman, all with Yeerks glowing through their skulls.  
  
Oh shoot. I said. Tom! Try to get out of here. I back you up. Tom started to edge toward the door. He was stopped by the policewoman.  
  
"Where do you think you are going young man?" she asked. I could tell that they were about to drag him off. "You're to come with us too, miss." she said to me.  
  
My mind fled like crazy, thinking of any trick I could use against them. Then, I thought of something.  
  
"Oh, my God what is that?" I screamed, pointing to the far corner of the store. "Its an alien!!!" I screamed.  
  
That did it. All four of the police went over towards the back, guns in hand. Run. I whispered to Tom. He ran, out the door, and towards my uncle's car. I was right behind him when I remembered Jake.  
  
Jake? Are you in here?  
  
Yeah, I'm a fly, coming towards you as fast as I can. Get out of there! I'm right behind you.  
  
I flew for the door. That's when the police realized that they had been tricked. "Stop! Police!" One yelled. Luckily, I was already outside and running for Tom.  
  
BANG! BANG! PING! Bullets whizzed just hairs by me. I dodged them with my lightning reflexes, fine tuned from being an Andalite and from 2 years of figure skating. Unfortunately, Tom wasn't as lucky.  
  
"YAAAHHHHH!!" he yelled as a bullet got him in the leg. He fell.  
  
Nooooo! I heard Jake yell. I rushed up to him and started to drag Tom to the car. That went fine at first, but soon I got immensely tired. You see, Tom is like Jake, strong and stockily built.  
  
Can't you lift him? Jake asked desperately. Can I help?  
  
"No, we can't risk anyone seeing you morph out. Wait, I have an idea." I said. I just got the idea to half morph to the strongest animal I had, just enough to get its strength. That meant my T-rex morph. I focused. I could feel the muscles of the Tyrannosaurus bulging. I carefully controlled it so that the only other change that happened is that my eyes changed to slits, like the eyes of a cat.  
  
That gave me the extra oomph I needed to drag Tom the rest of the way. He was moaning and clutching his leg. Once we were in the car, I grabbed a tissue from the tissue box my uncle keeps. He has an allergy that makes him have a runny nose. I pressed the tissue onto Tom's wound to stop the bleeding. It seems all those movies we watched in health about first aid were finally going to pay off.  
  
"How is he doing?" My uncle asked. He rolled up the windows so that Jake could morph out. You see, my Uncle got some tinted windows on the car so that no one will see anyone who is morphing in the back seat. "I'm going to get you to our house. The rest are waiting there. I called the rest of them." He said to Tom. "The Yeerks will think that I would take you to the hospital first to tend to your wound. We are going to do the opposite instead.  
  
By this time, Jake was wrapping up his morph. The makeup had come off almost completely by now. This was a problem because Tom then looked up at him.  
  
"J-Jake?!?" He asked, astonished.  
  
"Oh no." Jake and I both said at once. Tom knew now that his little brother was one of the defenders of earth.  
  
"I thought you were up to something, midget." Tom said.  
  
"How much further?" I asked desperately to uncle Gran.  
  
"Almost there. Hang on." he replied.  
  
Chapter #9  
  
The trip home seemed to take forever. Jake helped me out by keeping Tom's leg elevated and handing me new tissues every few minutes. By the time we got back, uncle Gran's tissue supply was almost out. Cassie and Marco came out to help us get Tom into the house.  
  
"Catch some heavy artillery?" Marco asked.  
  
I just stared at him for a moment, then said "Listen, I just discovered a weapon, sort of, that can help us in finding out who is a controller.  
  
"What?" Cassie asked. "No one can see who is a controller and who isn't until you see the Yeerk crawl out of his or her head."  
  
"I know, but if I concentrate, I can see a Yeerk in someone's head who is a controller." I defended.  
  
"Wow. You're like Voodoo. You know, the Wildcats? Cartoon that was canceled a few years ago." Marco said. "Anyway, you got Tom as your controller?"  
  
"Yeah." I replied. "But how was I supposed to know? I actually think it's really good."  
  
"Okay that's nice everyone but we have a bigger problem on our hands." Jake said, taking command. "In the escape Tom was shot in the leg. In order to loose the Yeerks we took Tom here instead of the emergency room. Our problem is how in the world to get the bullet out and heal this wound. Anyone have any ideas?"  
  
Cassie then went over to Tom once we were inside and started to examine the wounded leg. Tom was very astonished now to see that Cassie, Rachel, Marco, a hawk, and a crazy kid wolfing down some cheese were also part of the resistance. Cassie checked the leg for a moment, then said grimly,  
  
"It's in there deep. I think it cut an artery or something. We need to get the bullet out.  
  
We all thought deeply, and as hard as we could to get an idea to save Tom's life. I was just about to give up when my eye caught my copy of Watership Down. I remembered that in the book, the seagull named Kehaar saved the rabbit Hazel's life by taking out the bullets in his leg with his slender beak.  
  
"Wait." I said to the others. "Didn't you get a seagull morph once?"  
  
"Yeah," Marco said. "But what's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"Because a seagull could pick out the bullet easily with its beak. Didn't you ever read Watership Down?"  
  
"No, I didn't." he replied.  
  
"Well all right, I'll morph the seagull." Jake said. "But it still leaves the problem that Tom has a bullet hole in his leg. We need to stop that bleeding."  
  
"I doubt that we can. The bullet cut the artery. There is nothing we can do." Cassie said grimly.  
  
"Wait, I have an idea." I said. "Jake, go ahead and remove the bullets. I'm going up to my room for a moment." I then started to head up the stairs.  
  
"If that's the case I'm going with you. This is making me queasy." Rachel said and followed me up.  
  
I went up to my room, and removed the landscape picture on my wall to reveal a sort of safe.  
  
"Cool." Rachel said. "You have a safe in your wall."  
  
I did the combination, and opened it to reveal a wooden box that seemed to be seamless. I then did a series of spins and taps to open the box. In it was a book, and a sky blue box.  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" Rachel asked, astonished.  
  
"Yes." I replied. "I will use the morphing technology to save Tom."  
  
We went back downstairs, to see Jake very carefully taking out the bullet. Tom winced whenever Jake wrenched the bullet out a little more.  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Cassie exclaimed. "A morphing cube!"  
  
"What do you need it for?" Marco asked.  
  
"Its for Tom, genius." Tobias said.  
  
"Yes yessssss," Ax said, exaggerating most of his sounds. Ax uses his voice like it was a new toy whenever he is in human morph. "Remember, DNA is not affected by wounds. If Tom was given the ability to morph, he could change from a human to something else, and then back, his wound would be totally healed. Heeeaallleddd-DDDD"  
  
We were busy thinking this over when Marco suddenly gasped.  
  
"You guys. Do you REALIZE what kind of life Tom has ahead of him, morphing or no? He has untold numbers of Controllers who are going to be sent his image. They will be looking for him! They don't know what to think right now, but they know he is dangerous, maybe even an Andalite or something- I don't know what's going through their slimy slug-covered brains, but what matters is that they'll be out to get him! And if they do, and he is made a Controller again, they'll know about all of us! This is INSANE!!!!!!!!!" We were speechless until Rachel broke the uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Good thing you ended with INSANE, Marco. I was beginning to think you actually were being serious for once." We laughed nervously. Ax cleared his throat.  
  
" I see only one possible solution. Sooooluuushun. Shun. Shun. Shunshunshunshun! Oh, sorry. The solution is to have Tom become an Animorph, as I suggested. He will find some person who looks similar to him, but different. Then he will acquire this person and become a nothlit while in that morph. Then he can touch the morphing cube again. The morphing cube will not like this- it can take only so much strain- but we won't need to use it that much, anyway. Way. Waaay!" Everyone stared at Ax in astonishment, especially Tom. Rachel stared into space, wide-eyed.  
  
"Or..." she began. "Maybe we can find a way to erase the Yeerks' memory, like in Men in Black." Rachel said. "I mean, what if we could find or create some sort of gadget that would erase the Yeerks' memory about Tom. They wouldn't know he even existed. Then he would be safe."  
  
"I never bargained for this when I joined the Sharing." Tom mumbled to himself.  
  
"Well, we still need to use the morphing cube to mend that wound." Jake said. He sounded desperate. "Ax, do you know of any memory erasing technology?"  
  
Ax thought hard, searching deep through his memory. Finally, he said, "Supposedly, one could create a memory neutralizer by melding together a communicator, like the one we created once before, and a haring device. IseiseiseiseISE. Sorry."  
  
So, what's a haring device? Tobias asked.  
  
"As far as I know, its a kind of radar, that allows one to focus on a certain species. It is usually used as a spying mechanism by the Skirt Na. We would use this to focus on the Yeerks, and set what memories to erase. Race RAS-UH."  
  
"Well, that's all fine and dandy everyone, but we have a bigger problem on our hands." Jake said. "MY BIG BROTHER IS BLEEDING TO DEATH WHILE YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT A HERRING DEVICE IS!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Haring device." Ax corrected.  
  
"Well, anyway, we need to use the morphing cube on Tom if we want him to live."  
  
"Look everyone, I don't care if I have to become another bandit or not, but I do want to live to see my next birthday. I say let's go for it. I'm ready." Tom said.  
  
"Okay, here goes nothing." I mentioned.  
  
"I think that's your new quote, Sara." Marco said.  
  
Chapter #10  
  
I went over to Tom carrying the cube while he struggled to sit up. I set the box in front of him while he just stared at it for a moment, trying to grasp what I was about to do.  
  
"Just put your hand on one of the sides." I said. "I'll do the rest."  
  
Tom did as he was told. He put his hand on the panel opposite to me. I put my hand on it then. I then sent the impulse that activated the cube. I saw Tom's face relax for a moment while the technology was transferred into him.  
  
"Okay, now a victim is needed." Marco said.  
  
What about me? Tobias asked. "A hawk would be a good morph if I do say so myself."  
  
"How about a red tail?" Jake asked Tom.  
  
"Works for me." He replied.  
  
"Okay, come on down Tobias." I said to Tobias who was sitting on the banister of my stairs. He floated down and landed squarely on my shoulder like he always does. Then, Tobias went down to Tom and stood next to him.  
  
"Okay Tom," I said to Tom. "Just put your hand on Tobias, and concentrate on his shape."  
  
Tom reached out, and focused on Tobias. The hawk stopped moving and just stood. It happens to any animal you acquire, they go into a trance while you absorb their DNA. After he broke contact, Tobias stayed in the trance for a moment, then shook himself and returned to my shoulder.  
  
"Okay Tom, now concentrate on the form, imagine yourself turning into the hawk, be the hawk."  
  
"Thank you, Yoda." Marco remarked.  
  
"Hush!" I replied.  
  
Tom closed his eyes and concentrated. At first nothing happened, but then I could see the changes begin to happen. His skin turned into a pretty brown pattern, then up came feathers from any angle. He shrank like crazy, and his mouth stretched out to form a beak. He then stopped.  
  
Oh man this is insane! He said.  
  
"That's my line!" Marco shot out.  
  
"Keep going, Tom." Cassie encouraged.  
  
After a few more minutes, Tom had finished and was now a full hawk.  
  
Wow, this is incredible! Tom said. I'm a bird!  
  
"He's a plane, he's superman!" That of course came from Marco.  
  
After Tom had calmed down and was perched (he wanted to keep his cool new form for a little longer) on my shoulder, we began discussing how to make our brainwashing device. Jake and Rachel, on Ax's instructions, went to put together a communicator while Ax explained how we could get a haring device.  
  
"It's really quite simple." Ax explained. "Haring devices are made of compounds usually rare, but surprisingly abundant on Earth. What we need is some - what do you call it? ah- salt, and a battery. Attery. Ery." Marco stared.  
  
"You're telling me all we need to make this, uh, herring radar thingy is a salt shaker and a flashlight?" he blurted. Ax blinked at him.  
  
"You have a strange way of putting things, but yes, that is true." I leapt up, upsetting Tom who leapt into the air, screeching.  
  
"Sorry, Tom!" I called at the wheeling bird. "I forgot you were there! Now what was I getting up for?" I muttered. "Oh yes! I'll go get the salt and the battery," I dashed out the door towards the kitchen.  
  
"Salt, salt, salt, darn it where's the salt?" I was scouring the kitchen in search of the salt shaker. "Ax, is that iodized salt you're looking for?" I yelled into the living room.  
  
"What's the difference? Rense. DIFF-ERRE-NSE." he called back.  
  
"Oh, fine, I'll take both." I said to myself. I grabbed the salt canister and the first battery I could find. I dashed into the living room and gave the battery and the salt to Ax.  
  
"Yes, this will do fine. INE. YNE. IEIEIEIEIEIE. Now I need some silver to focus and a canister to hold it all made of-- of--."  
  
"What? What?" we all asked at the same time. It was kind of silly but the future of the Animorphs was resting on what form of canister to use.  
  
"Oh, that form of silicon, that-- that-- I can't remember. We learned about it in school but my mind was elsewhere."  
  
"Oh NO!" everyone except me yelled. I was in deep thought.  
  
"Ax you've got to remember! If the filthy slugs get their hands on Tom we're all doomed!" Marco yelled at Ax. I could tell that he was more than upset.  
  
"Silicon, silicon, silicon..." I kept repeating to myself.  
  
Uh, hey, Sara's eyes. Tobias said. Apparently my eyes were shining again. Everyone stopped yelling and just watched me talk to myself.  
  
"Silicon, also known as sand--sand can't hold though.. but.. no that can't be right.. can it? wait.. maybe if.. THAT'S IT! GLASS!"  
  
"What?" Rachel asked, stunned at my yelling.  
  
"Silicon is sand, and sand can't hold, but if you superheat sand it melds together and when it cools it creates glass! Ax needs a glass cup!" I explained.  
  
"Yes, bartender, I'll have a salt battery silver on the rocks please." Marco joked. We all had to laugh.  
  
"Cassie, can you get me a glass from the cupboard? I'm going upstairs again. I think I have one of those bottles filled with water that has silver flakes in it." I said.  
  
While Cassie went to the kitchen for the glass I went upstairs to my room for the bottle. Sure enough, I had a tiny bottle of silver pieces underwater from the nature shop. Down I went with the silver. Cassie was already in there with the glass watching Ax work. Tom had morphed back to his original form.  
  
"Here's the silver Ax. Hope its not too small." I said.  
  
"Yes this will do. ooo, ooh." He replied, adding his own array of extra sounds.  
  
"Ax?" Jake said.  
  
"Yes Prince Jake?" he replied  
  
"Don't do that."  
  
"Do what? ut Uht."  
  
"That. Don't play with your sounds. You are like a child with a new toy."  
  
"Yes Prince Jake. Not a toy. I believe you have told me that before. Ororororororor"  
  
"Don't call me 'Prince.'"  
  
"Yes Prince Jake." I of course, smirked. Maybe Ax has a sense of humor after all.  
  
Chapter #11  
  
The time used to create the haring device was long. Eventually, Ax needed to morph back to his Andalite form. During the change, I could literally see Tom turning green. When Ax's Andalite tail shooped out of his spine, Tom couldn't take it anymore and keeled over.  
  
"And I thought that I had a problem with morphing." Marco said.  
  
Well, you're used to it. Tom isn't. Tobias countered.  
  
Cassie and Jake went over to Tom to help him wake up while I helped Ax with the device.  
  
Now keep your finger there while I add the salt. That will allow a place for the battery to stand. Ax instructed me. In about an hour, the device was done.  
  
"I'll keep the device safe. Its about time for you to get home now. Its getting late." My uncle said. It was in fact only four o'clock, but we did not want to make our parents suspicious.  
  
"What about the Zero G transponder?" Jake asked. "I think that we will have to get one from the other communicator that we had built, the one that is floating around in the forest."  
  
"I think the best thing is to get it tomorrow. I doubt that anyone will steal it from the wilderness and tomorrow is Sunday so we'll have plenty of time." Cassie said.  
  
"Fine, fine," Rachel sighed. "I was really looking forward to frying some slug brains though."  
  
"That's our Xena." Marco said.  
  
Tom, Tobias said with urgency. Until we get some Yeerk brains fried,you better stay out of sight. We can't risk you being infested by the Yeerks again.  
  
"Okay, fine." Tom replied. "Not that I want to be infested again."  
  
"I'd better keep a low profile too." I said. "The Yeerks know that I am a threat too."  
  
After that, every one went their separate ways until tomorrow. Ax morphed into his human morph and I walked with Cassie and Ax partway to Cassie's farm. Tobias flew overhead.  
  
"Do you think that this will work Ax?" Cassie asked.  
  
"We can't be for sure until its tested out. Even then, we'll need to test some controller to see if they know." Ax replied.  
  
"I hope it does." Cassie said. "I hate to see Jake tortured from the fact that his big brother is a controller."  
  
"I'd better go." I said. "I can't risk any controllers seeing me. See you tomorrow."  
  
"Good bye my friend." Cassie replied.  
  
I then turned and ran back to my house to prepare for tomorrow.  
  
Chapter #12  
  
It was noon when we were ready to activate the brainwasher. Marco, Cassie and Jake had got the transponder from the forest- it was an uneventful trip. Ax connected the transponder to the communicator, picked up the haring device and frowned at them. We waited patiently until Marco lost his patience.  
  
"Get on with it!" he shrieked. In his surprise, Ax's weak arm jerked and the haring device landed on the communicator. We heard a click. All was silent as we stared at the odd contraption. Slowly colorful lights lit up on the sides, though where they come from I had no idea. The thing began to hum. Ax smiled thankfully.  
  
"Thank you, Marco. I am afraid I was, sort of, uh, not paying much attention in class when we were learning this, and couldn't remember how to put it together. There was this female- "  
  
"Oh come on, Ax!" Rachel said excitedly. "Forget the nostalgia! Forget the female! Let's go kill some Yeerk brain cells!" We cheered and were about to rush out the door, window, whatever when Jake called a halt.  
  
"Listen, you guys!" he said. "We've got to think up a plan here! How on earth do we brainwash all the Yeerks that know about Tom and Sara?"  
  
"To get a big enough radius, we need to be high above the Yeerks' main area- the mall, as it is." Ax explained.  
  
"So we morph birds and carry this thing up!" Rachel decided. I wrinkled my nose.  
  
"That won't work, Rach. What would go through the Yeerks' heads if they saw a bunch of birds lugging some object up above their precious little pool?" I worried. Rachel growled.  
  
"Come on, Sar, it's not THAT dangerous!" she pleaded. "They won't be looking up. The worst that can happen is that we'll be on TV, like that one time at the gas station." I stared at her, clueless, but Tobias paced embarrassedly. He was back in his bird shape.  
  
Humph. he muttered. Let's not go into that. But Rachel's right, Sar. C'mon, what else could we do? Let's-  
  
"Go!" cried Rachel, not to be beat to her own line. We all laughed and streamed out the door, this time in earnest.  
  
Chapter #13  
  
I never realized that this thing was so heavy!  
  
We were flying overhead heading towards the mall. Rachel, since she had the strongest bird morph, was doing most of the carrying. Tobias and I flanked her on both sides for extra support. We figured it wouldn't look AS weird if there were two of the same species. Marco, Cassie, Jake, and Ax were a little ways off in case we got too tired to go on.  
  
Remember Rachel, it was your idea. I mentioned after she had complained about the weight of the transponder. However, I too was feeling the weight of the brainwasher but didn't complain.  
  
I think that you should land on the roof of Hudson Belk. I don't really feel like frying some Yeerk brains in midair. Jake called.  
  
Oh great, that's over on the other side of the mall. Tobias complained.  
  
C'mon Bird boy, be like Ah-nold and heft that sucker! Marco encouraged. We all had to laugh.  
  
He's right, besides, we're almost there. I said. Indeed, the rooftop was right below us.  
  
All right everyone, set it down gently. We don't want to break the thing. Jake warned.  
  
We all started to set the brainwasher down. It was tedious work, especially because birds of prey could not hover. Eventually though, Rachel, Tobias, and I got the brainwasher down on the rooftop of the mall. We all morphed out, with Ax and Tobias going to human. It would be hard to explain this as it was, but it would be even harder explaining Ax.  
  
"Okay, so how do we focus this thing?" Cassie asked.  
  
"When creating a focus, you enter the brain file and the species into the device. Then, you send it out like a normal message, except it cannot be detected by normal communicators. NATORS ORSORSORS." Ax explained.  
  
"All right, so how do we do that?" Marco asked.  
  
"Simple. We just enter the main subject of the file and the brainwasher,as you so aptly put it, will erase that file very quickly. Wikly. wikwik." Ax explained more thoroughly.  
  
"So, let's fry!" Rachel exclaimed.  
  
"How will we know if this thing works or not?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Uh, I think that that will not be a problem." Tobias said with a worriedexpression. He was squinting down at the parking lot. You see, Tobias is so used to his hawk eyes that human eyes are like being severely nearsighted.  
  
I looked over the edge, and saw Chapman, our assistant principal walkingout of the mall. Chapman is a very high ranking controller. "Well, it seems that we have a lab rat."  
  
"Well, fire the sucker up before we loose him!" Rachel yelled.  
  
Ax then commenced to pressing a number of buttons on the console. It seemed forever before he said "Its ready. Edy."  
  
"Fire then!" Jake yelled.  
  
Ax then pressed what I think to be the send button. At first nothing happened. I watched Chapman walk to his car with no change. Then suddenly, he jerked back and scratched his head in confusion, as if he was thinking of something and then lost it.  
  
"All right! MIB strikes again!" Marco exclaimed.  
  
"So how do we get this thing off of here?" Jake asked.  
  
"Simple, we carry it again." Rachel replied. Both Tobias and I slapped our heads for having to carry the thing again.  
  
"Well, back to being big, bad, communicator hefting, Ah-nold like, birds once again. I can't wait. Maybe we can get our own exercise video while we're at it too." Marco said. We all had to laugh.  
  
"Fine, fine," I said. "Let's morph." I got back into my red tail morph. While the rest were finishing up their morphs, I looked over the communicator trying to find the best way to hold it. Rachel hopped on top and grabbed the handle on the communicator. I took the left edge and Tobias took the right.  
  
I hope this is the last airborne hefting job we have to do. This thing is heavy! Tobias commented.  
  
Look at poor Chapman down there Tobias, he looks so lost and confused. Marco said. There was no reply. Tobias?  
  
I looked over at him. For a hawk, he looked totally exhausted and tired. Are you all right?  
  
Too....heavy. Can't.......hold. He replied in gasps.  
  
Jake, Rachel called. Can you take over? He's getting too tired for the weight.  
  
I'll try, but the thermals have died down and it is somewhat hard to keep up. Jake replied.  
  
He started to soar over, but I could see that Tobias's side was starting to slip from his talons. Hang on Tobias, I encouraged. Jake is almost here, then you can have a break.  
  
I....can't. He gasped. Its...slipping! Noo! Suddenly, the handle slipped from his talons. Rachel and I dropped like stones, right in front of Chapman. He may have lost his memory, but he does know that birds carrying a huge communicator means Animorphs in morph.  
  
"Bandit!" he sneered and whipped out a dracon beam.  
  
"Tsseeewwww!" I screamed and dove at his eyes.  
  
Get that communicator out of here! I yelled. But a few more controllers in the parking lot ran over and aimed their dracons at us. We were trapped.  
  
Chapter #14  
  
I was staring down the barrel of a slick Dracon beam. But at that moment, with all the danger we were in, all I could think of was the fact that my foot hurt. I glanced down. I was standing on the sharp edge of the 'send' button on the brainwasher! My mind clicked and I shifted my foot.  
  
Ax! I shrieked. Is the brainwasher still on the right setting? At first there was no answer, and I can tell you my hawk heart went nuts. Then, finally, there was the very weak reply- Yes. I didn't stop to think what could have happened to Ax. I pressed the 'send' button. The Controllers were already brainwashed, so the brainwasher had no real effect- except to make them dizzy. During the brief time of confusion, I morphed larger muscles into my hawk shape and told Cassie to do so as well. Soon we were done, and I cried,  
  
C'mon, everyone! Let's get out of here! Cassie and I had much more strength now, and zoomed up into the air with the heavy but bearable communicator. The assorted birds lifted into the air and landed quickly on the roof of a nearby Hechts. Jake turned back to check the Controllers were still disoriented and would not see where they had landed. What he saw made his blood run cold. The Controllers were not dizzy any longer. There was no danger of them being spotted; none of the Controllers were looking their way. All six Controllers, including Chapman, were closing in on a small, forlorn, tired-out figure on the ground. A bird. Jake instantly knew who it was. He drew the other Animorphs to the edge of the roof and pointed.  
  
It's Tobias! I gasped.  
  
Yes, replied Jake. We were all stunned into silence.  
  
I'm sure the others were mad at the controllers, but I was filled with rage. I don't know what came over me, but I got so angry, like I wanted to bash a couple heads together with dynamite.  
  
I could hear Chapman speaking. "Ah, so the Andalite scum is abandoned by  
  
his comrades." He said. "You know, if you morph out and let me take your body as a controller, I will let you live. I'm sure that I would be promoted, possibly to a sub Visser! You and I would go down into Yeerk history!"  
  
Oh good grief. Cassie said, but I didn't hear. At the moment, I was morphing at top speed, possibly from hawk to human in ten seconds. Ax was morphing too, but from harrier, to Andalite, to human, and much slower.  
  
Sara, are you all right? Marco asked, almost scared at how angry I was.  
  
That's it, I've had it! Its one thing to shoving a dracon beam barrel down my throat, but to go threatening my friends, that's a whole other ball game! You controllers are going down! I yelled, then stopped, shocked at my speech. Everyone was staring at me. Rachel was next to speak.  
  
You're right. Let's go!  
  
Xena and Gabrielle strike again, but for the first time, I'm right behind you. I won't let them go harassing Tobias. Marco remarked.  
  
Everyone stayed in bird morph except me and Ax. Ax stayed on the rooftop- I'm not sure why, but I had no time to ponder. I was in my velociraptor morph.  
  
I jumped down from the roof to the ground with a thud. Luckily, no one was in the parking lot or they would be in shock. The controllers did not notice me.  
  
"What is your answer, Andalite scum?" Chapman asked.  
  
"SSSSCCCCCCRRRRRREREEEEAAAAAACCCCCHHHHHHH" I yelled.  
  
That got the controllers attention. Immediately they were frozen in terror at my sight. Apparently they had all seen Jurassic Park. With a very well aimed tail swipe I swished off all those dracons down to the ground. I narrowed my cat like eyes so that it was if I was saying to them to take a hike fast before I rip their arms off.  
  
Unfortunately, I had underestimated the velicoraptor's brain. This dinosaur was smart, agile... and extremely overconfident. I was so engrossed in threatening the cowering Controllers I didn't notice the flashing Andalite tail until it was against my tough throat. Quickly I turned my eyes, but not my head.  
  
Visser Three! I hissed, forgetting our rule to keep silent in case the Visser could sense we were humans.  
  
You're wrong, my little HUMAN friend, he sneered. I am one you know well. Aximili-Esgarr- suddenly the face contorted, then slowly returned to its former sneer, though the sneer had fright in it now. The- the Andalite is fighting hard, Ax, or what was left of Ax gasped. But he will not- I will- This time the figure doubled over in pain.  
  
Ax! I shrieked, now recognizing the young Andalite. Remember! Instincts! All I could do then was pray he remembered how to access the instinct part of his brain- and that Andalites had an instinct part in their brain. Luckily he came through. Minutes after, a wiggling gray slug flew out of the Andalite's ear. This time I did not hesitate to squash it. I turned to Ax, worried and still apprehensive. Meanwhile, the rest of the Animorphs had come down and unmorphed.  
  
Are- are you all right? Are you- free? He slowly turned his strange blue face up.  
  
Yes, Sara. I am all right. He slowly turned toward Jake. I feel deep respect for you, my prince. Being a Controller, especially for an Andalite, is -how do you say it? No picnic. Ick. Ickickick. Kick. Jake offered one of his rare, slow smiles.  
  
"No kidding, Ax-man." he said. Then he turned to me. "By the way, Sara, that is the coolest morph! How in the galaxy did you acquire it?" Before I could answer, Marco interrupted.  
  
"Hate to break up the Jurassic Park episode, but the Controllers are gone- they ran off as soon as you were distracted by Ax, Sara- and they've taken Ax!" I groaned silently.  
  
Man, Ax, did you have to pick a time like this to get a slug in your ear? Sorry. I just hate when we are sooo close and then are chances are gone! Snap! Like that! I almost snapped my fingers, but remembered just in time that they were not exactly fingers.  
  
"Well," said Cassie with a sigh, "Morph out, Sara, and then I guess it's plan time once more!"  
  
"Stupid stupid stupid Yeerks!" I yelled. We were at Rachel's house trying to decide what to do. I was pacing. Something came over me while we were there. I don't know what it was though, but it was weird. "If I get my hands on Chapman, I'm going to shake him until his teeth rattle and come out of his head!"  
  
"Calm down, Sara! I've never seen you worked up like this." Cassie reassured.  
  
"That's a good idea Gabrielle." Marco agreed. "Besides, you need to clear your head for a plan, because we need one." We all looked at Marco stunned at what he said. Normally, he would be the last person to say that. "Not that I am going along or anything. It's just always you that comes up with the ideas." I growled at him.  
  
"Well, anyways, we need a plan everyone. Ideas?" Jake asked.  
  
"Why don't we work on where they could have taken Tobias?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Lets see," I said when I had calmed down. "We've got the Gardens but they would not put Tobias there. There are more animals that people would be interested in. Your rehabilitation center Cassie, but there are no controllers that have access to the barn and there would be no place to hide him, so the most likely place is the (gulp) Yeerk pool."  
  
"Perfect." Rachel said. "I hate to sound like Marco here, but this must be the fifth time that we have gone to the Yeerk pool in the past week. That's a little too much, even for us." We gaped at Rachel for saying a thing like that.  
  
"Well, fine, but we've got to act fast. Ast." Ax said, obviously in morph. "Soon the Yeerks will find out that Tobias is a nothlit and possibly kill him."  
  
I jumped up. "Then let's go and not be sitting here waiting to take root!"  
  
"Not yet Gabrielle," Marco said. "Let's hear Jake's plan." I growled and sat down again.  
  
"Thank you Marco." Jake thanked. "Sara and I will go in as controllers with Sara as a Yeerk. Everyone else will be flies and come in after us. Once there, we will find an isolated place to morph into stronger animals. Someone will go and find Tobias while the others make a diversion."  
  
"I'll get Tobias." I said almost immediately.  
  
"My gosh Sara, what's gotten into you?" Cassie asked, concerned for me. "Ever since Tobias has been kidnapped, you have been even worse than Rachel. Its starting to scare me."  
  
"Sorry," I apologized. "I've just felt very protective of Tobias, and when he was kidnapped I went wrecked."  
  
They all stared at me, and then Rachel said "Well, let's go!" We all laughed at Rachel and then started to morph.  
  
Chapter #15  
  
I hovered at the top of a dark stairway and gulped. I could hear humans screaming down below. We had got into the mall and morphed into flies in the bathrooms, a couple at a time.  
  
Oh boy. said Marco. The Yeerk pool again. Man, I practically know this place by heart by now.  
  
I waited a moment, then burst out.  
  
Come on, you guys! We've got to save Tobias! I got no arguments, only a few anticipatory groans, mostly from Marco. Five flies buzzed down into the hellhole that was the Yeerk pool. I looked out through my crazy compound vision, trying to spot a lot of people clustered around a hawk. Fly vision isn't all that great, I can tell you. My fly brain wasn't much a help, either. It wanted to go toward some trash can which I would not have expected down here.  
  
Tobias! I called, directing the thought only to him. Where are you? Nothing.  
  
How do we find him? asked Cassie.  
  
How about we listen to some Controllers? Ax suggested.  
  
That looks like Chapman to me, said Rachel. Over in the direction of, uh, the big fuzzy gray thing.  
  
That's the Yeerk pool, you idiot! Marco hissed. Let's go! To make sense of the hum that was human speech, I landed on top of the baseball cap Chapman was wearing. Ax landed beside me. The rest of the Animorphs hovered nearby, high up so as not to attract attention, waiting for the news.  
  
"Has the Andalite, if that is what it is, morphed back to its Andalite form yet?" Chapman asked.  
  
"No," replied some Controller nearby. "And it has been nearly an hour and a half since we captured it. Doesn't morphing have some kind of limit?"  
  
"Yes," Chapman answered, "I think so. But I am not exactly an expert on Andalites. We will have to leave that to Visser Three." Visser Three! Our most hated enemy would be in this battle too, if he arrived soon.  
  
Visser Three, I groaned to Ax.  
  
Yes, he replied. He will know at once Tobias is a nothlit, if he accesses ex- Prince Alloran's memories. He will have no way of knowing Tobias has morphing abilities still, and anyway Tobias has not acquired any dangerous morphs. They will kill him.  
  
Not if I have anything to do with it, I hissed. Come on, you slug- infested fiend, ask where Tobias is being kept! I directed this toward the unknown Controller Chapman was talking to, though not actually so he could hear it.  
  
"Let me see the hawk again before the Visser comes," Chapman said.  
  
Yes! I cheered silently. Rachel! Marco! Jake! Cassie! Follow Chapman! As I called this order, our assistant principal headed toward a low, far too small cage. Crumpled in the center of this cage was a mottled brown hawk. Red feathers flashed from its tail. The hawk was obviously in pain, but its red eyes glared at the Controllers surrounding its cage, aiming Dracon beams right at its eyes.  
  
Tobias! I cried in pain seeing him so captured. He glanced up in confusion, then relief and controlled joy when his sharp eyes saw the two flies perched on Chapman's hat.  
  
Don't move, Tobias, I said to him. we're here to rescue you, just stay there for a few more minutes.  
  
Is this the Andalite bandit? A voice boomed out. I shook with fear at knowing exactly who it was. Visser Three, our most hated enemy, assessing what to do with Tobias.  
  
Visser Three! Ax hissed.  
  
What's going on down there? Rachel whispered down to us.  
  
Visser Three. I whispered. She was then silent.  
  
I don't know about you, but I've had enough. I said. Jake, I called up. Did you see any alcove when you were in here last? I'm going to morph.  
  
He paused for a moment, then said Yeah, under the staircase. Its fairly large. I'm coming with you.  
  
Everyone else went except for Marco and Ax who were going to stay with Tobias. Cassie, Rachel, Jake, and I flew for the staircase. We got there and started to morph as fast as we could so no one would see some half morphed kids.  
  
What do you think, Cassie? I asked Raptor or t-rex?  
  
Go for raptor, then there won't be any earthquakes. If we get in a clinch, then go to t-rex. She replied.  
  
We all started to morph, Jake as a tiger, Cassie as a wolf, Rachel as an elephant, and myself as a velociraptor. I could barely hear the discussion going on about Tobias.  
  
So, we finally capture one of the Andalite bandits for good. I could hear Visser Three say. However, he appears to be a nothlit. We will interrogate him, then kill this thorn in our sides.  
  
No you won't! I said. Everyone was morphed now. I jumped out and bit the nearest Hork- Bajir I could find. He screamed in agony.  
  
That got everyone's attention. Hork- Bajir and Taxxon started to swarm on us, dracon beams blasting, but we were just as strong. Jake was a striped whirlwind of fury, biting and scratching anything that came nearby. I saw Rachel pick up a screaming Taxxon with her trunk and smush it on the ground. The ten nearest Taxxons then swarmed over, not to fight, but to eat their comrade. It made me sick to my velociraptor stomach. Cassie fought with me. We became a powerful pair slaying about maybe ten Hork-Bajir and three Taxxons.  
  
While the others were fighting, I called out I'm going to head towards Tobias! Once I get him, we better bail! They all called their agreement, and I started to fight my way towards the now well protected cage where Tobias was being held captive. My powerful claws tore a hole in the side of the cage.  
  
Tobias! I cried. Are you okay?  
  
Sara? was the weak reply.  
  
I'm getting you out of here, Birdboy. I tried to keep the extreme relief out of my 'voice'. Could you manage to hold onto my shoulder? There was a pause, then Tobias weakly crawled out of the cage. I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder. His talons skittered on my scales, then found places to hold on to. I turned to fight my way out and saw Visser Three standing there with three Hork-Bajir.  
  
You're not getting away this time, Andalite! If that is what you are... Before he could raise his tail, I did something I've always wanted to do- I rammed that Yeerk scum like I was a bus. I just put the velicoraptor at full speed and leapt through the enemies, slashing as I went. Visser Three was down cold. I would have loved to kill him, but I hate killing and anyway, we were running out of time.  
  
C'mon, you guys! I called. Let's go home! That provoked a rousing cheer in thought-speak, which is a strange sound if I ever heard one. Though sound isn't quite the right word. We fought our way out of the pile of Hork- Bajir and Taxxons, toward the stairs and home.  
  
After dashing up the stairs as fast as we could, we practically flew for the door. We all morphed out as fast as we could, then into birds once we were outside. At the very last moment, a pair of controllers came out looking for the zoo escapees. They found none.  
  
Talk about close encounters. Cassie exclaimed. If we had been a second late, they would have found us.  
  
First we nearly become half wolf half human nothlits, then we are nearly killed by some sharks, now this! Marco criticized. Let me know when we get to the climax. We all laughed.  
  
Soon after, we all collapsed in a heap on the floor of Cassie's barn as birds. After morphing out, I think that we all nearly fell asleep after all that rapid morphing and fast flying. That is enough to make even the most experienced morpher collapse in a heap. I was cradling Tobias in my arms, who after the fast flying was too weak to sit on my shoulder. He was asleep. I still don't understand the anger I had when he was birdnapped. Maybe it will come to me soon.  
  
After we had all recuperated, Marco, Rachel, and Jake left for home for some well deserved rest. Ax morphed his human and stuck around with Cassie and I to see how Tobias was doing.  
  
"He looks all right Sara," Cassie reassured. "I think that he just is really tired. After all, he did become very tired out there on the rooftop. I think that he just needs rest."  
  
"If that is the case," Ax said "I will bring Tobias back to the forest to rest. I will watch him until he is well again."  
  
"I'll come with you." I said. After that, I carefully picked up the hawk and headed towards the forest after a good bye from Cassie, who needed to work on a paper for school.  
  
Ax and I walked across the field towards the forest. It was a large forest, ideal for Tobias and Ax to be. Ax and I walked in silence until we got to the forest. Ax turned into his Andalite form again.  
  
After that, Ax said Thank you.  
  
"What for?" I asked  
  
You helped me fight the slug that was in my head, helped me to be..free again. For that I am forever grateful. Ax explained.  
  
We sat in silence for a while, then Tobias woke up suddenly. I practically wanted to shout in joy that he had not gone into a coma or something. He just laid there for a moment, then jumped up and flew for the closest branch to sit on.  
  
Are you all right Tobias? Ax asked.  
  
Whoa, I guess I am, except for a slight ache. Tobias reassured. What happened?  
  
After landing in Cassie's barn, Ax explained, You fell asleep and did not wake up until now. Are you all right now?  
  
Yeah, I guess. Tobias replied bluntly.  
  
In that case, Ax said I am going to get a drink of water. Good bye. We both said our good byes to Ax and then he ran off.  
  
Then it was just Tobias and me. We talked about the rescue, and my great event of knocking out Visser Three. I then told Tobias about my anger when he was birdnapped.  
  
Whoa. Was all of Tobias's reply.  
  
"Crazy, isn't it?" I said  
  
Well, yeah, Tobias said, But the scary thing was that I just knew that you were coming, not everyone else, but you in particular. That you wouldn't just abandon me to the Yeerks.  
  
"Oookkaaay," I said with a little bit of nervousness in my voice. "Now it's getting freaky."  
  
It's getting dark. Ax called. He had come back from the stream and had rejoined us. I suggest you go before it gets too dark.  
  
I smiled, then said "You're right, of course. I guess I'll morph and leave this popsicle stand. Bye!" I then morphed into my snowy owl and took to the air towards home.  
  
The next day, I got a letter from Jake and Tom outside my door. It was a thank you note from them. I could almost swear that there were tear spots on the letter. It was thanking me for putting my life on the line to help get Tom free again. It reminded me of one of the real reasons I even fight the Yeerks, why I am even an Animorph- it brought torn families together again, and maybe that's why I will keep fighting until all the Yeerks are gone. 


	3. Children of the Andalites Chapter 3: The...

The Prototype  
  
  
  
My name is Lauren.  
  
Just Lauren. I can't tell you what my last name is, or my middle name. It's too dangerous. Would you believe me if I told you that telling you my last name would probably mean that Earth was doomed? That evil aliens would take over all our minds and use us in their schemes? Of course you wouldn't, unless you were physcho, or unless you have been taken over already. I guess I'd better explain.  
  
The Yeerks are the aliens taking over our planet. If you saw one, you'd see an ugly gray slug about as big as your fist. It doesn't look like it could take over whole worlds. But they can. And they have. What Yeerks do is get inside the heads of other creatures and wrap themselves around their brain. Then they control this person's every action. The person becomes a Controller, a tool of the Yeerks. If you're a Controller, you can't choose anything. You can't control where you look, what you eat, what you say, anything. It's a fate worse than death. I haven't experienced it myself, and I hope I never do.  
  
THAT's why I can't tell you my whole name. If I did, the Yeerks would track me down and learn who we are. 'We' is the Animorphs. Morphers of animals.  
  
Savers of our planet, we hope.  
  
I am the newest Animorph, and the youngest. I never meant to have to be one, to go through what I am, but I did. Here's how.  
  
"Oslo, Norway. Paris, France. Rome, Italy. Portugal, Spain. No, wait! That's a country!" A short red-haired girl skimmed her hand along the row of lockers as she walked down the hall. I was studying for my social studies test tomorrow, and not doing that good a job of it. I had completely forgot about the test last night- I had gotten wrapped up in my favorite computer game- Harry. Ooh, such a cool game. I wished I was in that game now, instead of going to rehearsal. We were rehearsing every day for the school play, and it didn't leave too much time for games or studying. I imagined I was in Harry's swivel chair, firing my staple gun at evil robots as I zipped through energy fields.  
  
"Shooom Shoom Shooom. Zit Zit Zing! Haha! Eat staples, electrode breath! What's that? A doughnut? Yes! I-" I broke off suddenly. I had heard a noise. Someone was here! I felt a blush rush up to my cheeks as I investigated the noise. It came from a- locker? How could this be? I was creeping up to the locker when suddenly the strange noises stopped, and a big hand whirled me around.  
  
"Well, missy, what are you doing here? School's over, you know. Did you miss math too much to leave?" I nearly snorted at the idea. It was Mr. Chapman, our assistant principal.  
  
"I-I'm just going to rehearsal, Mr. Chapman." He didn't move. "F-for the play! " I waved the script I was holding. His gaze softened slightly as he saw it.  
  
"All right. See that you get there," He walked down the hall, leaving me alone. I shuddered. Chapman scared me. I turned back to the locker , which was beginning to make noise again. I took a deep breath, then threw it open.  
  
I don't know what I expected to see, but certainly not what I did- a horrible huge bird with human-like skin in places, human ears, wings with arms stuck to them, and- this was the worst- a huge black thing covered with patchy skin protruding from a nearly-human face! I opened my mouth to scream and found it full of gym clothes. I pulled them out, to disgusted to remember to scream. It's amazing that I found sweaty gym clothes more disgusting than some kind of human-bird freak. The creature took advantage of my confusion to leap from the locker and push me into a nearby teacher's workroom. We bumped into a teacher that was leaving. I looked at her in shock, waiting for the scream.  
  
"Well, hello, girls! I thought I was the last one leaving today- I didn't expect to see you here!  
  
"It-it's a rehearsal." I managed to gag out. It was my social-studies teacher!  
  
"Oh! Well, that's nice. Goodbye, girls! Study for your test, Lauren!" I stared after her, then turned to see how the human-bird had managed to fool my teacher. Instead of the freak I expected, I saw a perfectly normal girl who I recognized- from my math class!  
  
"S-sara?" I gasped out, sitting down very hard on the couch.  
  
Now Sara is the last person I would see behind me in place of a weird bird person. She is the most normal person I know. We were in a project together and sort of became best friends. She has a sort of--alien quality to her personality. That is only supported though by her incredible green eyes and her quickness in running. I once saw her running on the track during practice. She was totally ahead of everyone else and still going quickly. Otherwise, she is fairly normal, tan skin, sort of brownish-blonde hair that is always a little messed-up and being a medium to tall height. All the kids always made whispers behind her back, because of her kind of out- of-place feeling whenever someone was around her. I once saw her staring at the sky at a circling hawk, acting like she was talking to it. That only added to the whispers. At the moment when I found her behind me, Sara was wearing a skin tight sky blue leotard that looked like it could pull off as a practice skating uniform.  
  
"Ah- AAHH--" I had started to scream but Sara then put her hand over my mouth, preventing me from even breathing. There was total fear in her eyes as she just stared at me. I felt like she was looking straight into me, as if looking for something. Then, she took her hand away from my mouth once she was reassured that I would not scream. Sara breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"At least you aren't a controller." Sara said. "Please, don't scream. It could mean the end of human freedom as we know it if I am discovered."  
  
My adrenaline level was racing upwards as she talked. A friend I just found in a locker just turned back from being an ugly form between a bird and a human.  
  
"Wha-wha--" I stuttered.  
  
"What do I mean?" Sara completed for me. I nodded. She put a hand to her head. "Shoot, you should have never had seen that. What were you doing here?"  
  
Once I found my voice again, I gasped "Rehearsal..I was going to rehearsal."  
  
"Can you miss it for once?" She asked now.  
  
"I--I guess," I stuttered.  
  
"Good, wait here." Sara said. She went over to the door and glanced about. "Perfect, he isn't around."  
  
"Who?" I asked, totally clueless.  
  
"Chapman." She replied. "He is one of the enemy."  
  
"What enemy?" I asked. I hate it whenever someone doesn't tell me what is going on.  
  
"Come with me," she said. "If you want to be free, come with me." That was one of the most cryptic answers I had ever heard.  
  
We snuck outside for some reason or another and edged towards the forest behind the school. When we got towards the grass, Sara asked me "Do you think the grass looks good?" I just stared. "Just c'mon." She said and ran towards the fence bordering the forest.  
  
I grabbed her arm. "Sara," I asked, "What the heck is going on? I see you in a locker as some sort of bird, I'm totally missing rehearsal, and now I am running across the field towards the forest for some crazy reason or another! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?"  
  
Listen closely and I'll tell you. I heard. It "sounded" like Sara but her mouth wasn't moving. She was using telepathy, or thought-speak, as I soon found out what it was called. Just keep moving towards the forest. My friends and I fight the yeerks, a race of alien slugs that enslave all kinds of beings. They crawl into their heads and take over the person's body. The yeerks have taken over the Hork-Bajir, the Gedds, the Taxxons, and now they're after us. My friends and I are the only defense against their silent invasion. You can't tell who is controlled by a yeerk so you can't trust anybody. We were given the power to morph any animal we touch, literally, become that animal. What you saw was me morphing into a red- tailed hawk. Here's the fence.  
  
I just stared at Sara for a moment, absorbing all that she had said, and then climbed over the simple chain fence. She leaped over it totally, using her speed to jump over.  
  
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked.  
  
"We're going to meet a friend of mine. We are going to a meeting of my friends. Then you can decide if you are going to help us or not." Sara explained, using her voice again.  
  
After a few minutes of walking, we came to a clearing in the forest. Sara told me to sit down and she went into the center of the clearing.  
  
"Tobias?" She called. The name sounded familiar. "Tobias?" She called again. "TOBIAS!!!" She called sounding terribly annoyed. "TOBIAS YOU COME DOWN HERE BEFORE I USE MY GOLDEN EAGLE MORPH JUST RECENTLY ACCQUIRED!!!" she called out.  
  
Fine, fine, can't you take a joke? A voice said. Then I saw a hawk, red- tailed if I remember science class, flutter down and land squarely on Sara's shoulder.  
  
"Tobias, I'm not in the best of moods. We have a problem." She said. "Tobias, meet Lauren."  
  
What?!? I heard this bird say. How the heck did she find you?  
  
"I couldn't help it Tobias, she found me morphing. I couldn't just leave her there to tell Chapman." Sara explained helplessly.  
  
The bird calmed down, slightly. So what do we do with her?  
  
"I think the best idea is to have her come to the Icicle Dome today with the others. Then she can have everything explained." Sara said. "She can meet the others and see if she wants to help or not."  
  
That's crazy! The bird said, I say that we brainwash her. Then she will not have to take on the burden.  
  
"Yes, but we can use all the help we can get." Sara defended. "Why don't we ask her ourselves?" They both looked at me.  
  
"What do you want to do Lauren?" Sara asked. "You can be brainwashed so you never saw what you just did, or you can join us and help defend the world. The only thing is that your life will be on the line many times, you may die."  
  
I thought hard about this. I was about to turn the offer down, but then I thought about what Sara said about human enslavement. I thought it was suicide, but I said "Sure, I'll take the chance. There's some crazy stuff going on and I want to find out." Sara smiled.  
  
"Okay then, you'll need some info about morphing and such then. Unfortunately, it will take me a long time to explain it all to you." She explained.  
  
Maybe not. Tobias said. Sara looked at the red-tail. Before Elfangor died, he gave me a sort of, huge information burst that taught us about the Yeerk pool. Maybe Ax can do the same thing, and Lauren here can meet her first alien.  
  
"Alien?" I asked, totally clueless to what would happen next.  
  
Sara looked totally blank, then said "It's worth a shot, but can we call him from here?"  
  
I'll bet if we both thought called him, he would hear. Tobias said. From what I could tell, they were going to call this Ax character together. Their "voices" would carry enough that this Ax would hear them.  
  
"Okay then, I doubt that anyone would hear from here." Sara said. "Ready then? One, two, three,"  
  
AAAXXXXX!!!!!! I heard them call. The sound was deafening, if it could be heard by ears.  
  
"Did that do it?" Sara asked.  
  
I get the feeling it did. Tobias replied. Get ready for this Lauren, He said to me, Oh, and don't faint. I gave him a blank look.  
  
Then Sara said, "I can feel the vibration. He's coming." I could feel it too in my feet. There was a distinct vibration in the ground, like a horse's gallop. Now I knew that this was not of this world.  
  
Then suddenly, from behind Sara, came the weirdest looking thing I had seen yet. It jumped clear over Sara and sent Tobias screeching into the treetops. It was like a centaur, only blue and tan with stalk eyes coming from its head. Those looked around constantly. It had no mouth, just some slits to breathe through. The thing's eyes were an incredible green, then I noticed that they were the exact color of Sara's eyes, and what was even weirder, mine too. Actually, it looked kinda cute until you came to the tail. It was huge and looked like a scorpion tail with a deadly looking blade. This was apparently the thing called Ax.  
  
Greetings Sara, The Ax thing said. Greetings Tob- It stopped suddenly in mid speech. Its stalk eyes were focused on me. Then suddenly FFWAP! I was on my knees with that deadly tail blade pressed against my throat. I started to whimper.  
  
"No Ax!" Sara screamed. "She's fine! She's not a controller!" The alien did not back off.  
  
Why is she here then? Ax said, a dangerous look in all four of his eyes.  
  
"I couldn't help it Ax." Sara explained. "She saw me morphing in my locker. I brought her here. She has agreed to help us." Then, the alien relaxed his blade against my throat.  
  
I apologize. Ax said. With controllers around, we can't be too careful.  
  
I stopped whimpering. "Ax," Sara said, "Meet Lauren."  
  
Greetings, Lauren. The alien said.  
  
"Uh- hi." I stuttered.  
  
Ax, can you do an info burst? Tobias asked.  
  
Yes, I believe so. Why? Ax replied.  
  
Lauren needs a brush up on morphing and what we do. Tobias explained.  
  
Yes, I could do that, but I need a moment to collect the information. Ax said.  
  
"Well, now that we are all acquainted," Sara said. "I brought you something Ax. You can eat it while you collect your thoughts."  
  
Yes? Ax asked with interest.  
  
Sara pulled out a bag of strawberries. "You said that you wanted to try a fruit? Well I managed to save some strawberries from my lunch. Don't go bonkers though."  
  
A fruit? This I have to try. Ax said with enthusiasm. Then I saw him start to morph. It was similar to what Sara did, but he was changing to a human. It was strange, and very freaky. Hair started to sprout from his head. The stalk eyes and tail sucked in. The light fur retracted to show human skin. This was more than I could take. When his head split to form a mouth, I think I fainted.  
  
When I finally awoke, Sara was shaking me to wake me up. She looked worried. Up in the trees I saw Tobias. Over on a log I saw a strange kid, strawberry juice all over his face. He was licking the juice off of his hands and saying "Taste! Taste! Wonderful! Ful." Eventually, I figured out that this was Ax, only human. He had no mouth, so he didn't eat or talk. His mouth to him I guess is like a new toy. That's why he was playing with sounds.  
  
"She's awake." Sara said with relief. "I guess you are not used to morphs. This is Ax, the one you see with the messy face. He is in his human morph. Are you finished yet Ax?" She called to the boy.  
  
"Yes. Es uh. I shall morph back now. Ow ow." He said, playing with his sounds. Then, I saw him reverse the morph. This time, I managed to deal with it, with only a few protesting noises from my stomach. It looked like what I had seen, only in reverse. Once he had finished, he walked over to me.  
  
Do not be afraid. He said. I will not hurt you. Then, Ax took my hand, and placed his other many fingered hand on my forehead.  
  
That's when tons of images flew through my mind. Some I caught, others I didn't. I saw Tobias as a human. I knew him now. He was a kind of kid who liked to daydream. Some of my friends had a tendency to make fun of him, but I never did. I learned about the deadly two hour time limit, the thrill of flying, the yeerk pool with the screams, what it was like to be a controller, and other visions. Finally, the images stopped. Ax drew back as I absorbed all this information.  
  
"Now do you understand why you can't tell anyone?" Sara asked. I nodded.  
  
Should she come to the meeting at the dome? Tobias asked.  
  
"Yes," Sara said. "Then she can meet the others and I can tell you what I have found." Sara then turned to me. "Can you come to the Icicle Dome at 4:00?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess, but I need to tell my mom." I replied.  
  
"Okay fine, but tell her that you are going to ice skate. Don't tell her about what you have just seen." Sara said. "I'll see if I can find you when you get there, and try to lead you to where my friends are sitting. I am in the skating performance going on there. I'm third on the program. If you can't find me when you get there, just look for the person with the white leotard and rainbow skirt okay?"  
  
"Um-sure," I said.  
  
"Great." Sara said. "See you at four then. We are meeting at the Arctic Sun Cafe afterwards. Then I'll tell you what is going on. Bye."  
  
"Uh-bye." I stuttered and started to walk back towards the school.  
  
I went to rehearsal and endured a long lecture about being late. I tried to make up for it by singing extra loud and acting extra well, but I had a lot on my mind. I was glad when it finally ended at 3:30 and I could go home. My mother said I could go to the Icicle Dome, but, as she pointed out, I could not ice skate.  
  
"Oh, I'm thinking about lessons!" I explained. She gave me a strange look but drove me anyway. I arrived at 3:50 and hurried in. I looked around. I had expected the Icicle Dome to be more jam-packed than it was. There were about fifteen people in ice skating costumes and maybe twenty others. I looked at the girls in sequined feathery costumes and soon found the one with the rainbow skirt. I hurried over, trying at the same time to look just like an interested bystander. As I made my way across the floor, weaving in and out of people, I noticed one group of people in a secluded corner. In this group was a two girls, three nervous-looking boys and one strangely handsome boy stuffing his face with nachos and chips- at the same time. One of the boys was trying to stop him, without success. I put the odd group out of my mind as I reached Sara. She was tying the laces of one of her skates.  
  
"Hi, Sara!" I said cheerfully. "Nervous?" She looked up and smiled.  
  
"Not really. I'm used to performances. Ooh- there goes the first skater. I come up soon. Here- you can wait over there." she gestured at the suspicious group in the corner.  
  
"With the kid on a feeding frenzy?" I whispered. Sara smiled again.  
  
That's the one! I've warned them about you, but you'd better be prepared for a little, uh, disagreement. I nodded slightly and set off for the rest of the Animorphs, which, as I now knew, was their collective name. As I approached them, a dark-haired boy stopped trying to wrestle a cheese- covered paper plate away from who I realized was Ax, the alien. He was looking at me. He turned to a black girl with very short hair and gestured toward me. She looked up and nodded. Soon they all were looking in my direction, waiting my arrival except Ax, who was busy licking the plate. I sat down in the empty chair.  
  
"Well, so you're the one Sara's told us about," the dark-haired boy said.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want to be brainwashed?" asked one of the other two boys. The blonde girl glared at him.  
  
"Marco! She hasn't even been introduced! Sorry for the idiot," she apologized, glaring at Marco again. "I'm Rachel. This is Cassie, animal lover. This is Tobias, who you've met." I glanced over at the limp-looking blond boy with crazy hair in surprise.  
  
"But- you're a hawk!" I blurted. He smiled sadly.  
  
"The morph limit is two hours- Linda, is it?"  
  
"Lauren, actually."  
  
"Oh. Lauren. Anyway, the limit's two hours, and I went over the limit. I'm stuck as a hawk. I was unable to morph or anything for a while, but then an Ellimist- um, like Q on Star Trek- he gave me my morphing powers back and also took me back in time so I could 'acquire' myself. Pretty spooky, if you ask me. But now I can actually come to public meetings, like this."  
  
"Oh," I said, blinking. "How about we stick with the introductions for now. Those I understand." They laughed, and took my advice.  
  
"I'm Jake," the dark-haired boy said. "I'm our leader, I suppose."  
  
"No supposes, Jake, of course you're the leader," Cassie said with a slight smile.  
  
"I'm Marco," Marco said. "Cutest in the school, best hair, et cetera, etcetera." Rachel snorted at this and Marco glared at her.  
  
"And this," Jake continued, "Is Ax. Ax, take your face out of the popcorn and pay attention to what's going on, please." The alien lifted his greasy face out of the bag.  
  
"I am listening, Prince Jake. Lauren has arrived, and we are introducing ourselves. Elves. Hello, Lauren. I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, but my friends call me Ax. Can I have more popcorn?" Jake shook his head and Ax was about to eat the popcorn bag, but Marco pulled it away. I looked at Jake.  
  
"Why does Ax call you Prince?" I asked. Jake winced.  
  
"He's not supposed to. Andalites-" he looked around quickly and lowered his voice. "Andalites call their leaders princes, and since I'm our leader he calls me Prince Jake. Hey! Look- Sara's on. Boy- she's good!" We all turned to watch Sara as she performed different stunts. I was extremely impressed. Her rainbow skirt flew as she twirled on the ice.  
  
"Man, who needs to morph a penguin when you can do that?" Marco said in admiration.  
  
"Can you morph a penguin?" I asked excitedly.  
  
"Yes, if we acquire it. Quiet." Jake replied, watching the spinning figure as she finished her routine. I was looking at the ice, wondering how they made it so smooth when I saw someone slip into a door on the other side of the rink. There was a sign on the door which said, 'Do Not Enter. Authorized personnel only.' I thought nothing of it, but wondered why Sara had been staring at it as she took off her skates. She came over to our table.  
  
"That was great!" Rachel gushed. "Man, do you have flexibility! I could use some of that."  
  
"Yes, that was impressive," Ax offered.  
  
"Impressive? It was wonderful, Sara!" Cassie exclamed. Sara smiled distractedly, cutting the rest of the praise off short.  
  
"Yes, thanks, everyone, but there's something more important. See that door?  
  
Well, as I've been getting ready, I've watched the skaters, and noticed that quite often someone would go into that door. After five had gone in and none come out, I wondered. So I concentrated, and sure enough, the next two people who went in were Controllers. There goes another. Concentrate..." she paused. I looked at her, then at the tall, thin man entering the mysterious room behind the door, or whatever was there. "Yep," Sara growled. "Yeerk scum." Marco frowned.  
  
"Another Yeerk pool entrance?" he asked.  
  
"It sure looks like it," Sara said grimly.  
  
"Wait a sec, hold on." I said. "Sara, how the heck can you see who is a controller and who isn't? I tried concentrating, and nothing happened."  
  
Everyone looked at Sara, who then after a sad look that looked remarkably like the one Tobias gave me whispered "You see, I'm half Andalite, what Ax is." I listened intently, because my past suspicions were confirmed about Sara. She DID have an alien quality. "I don't know who my parents were, or even which one was my Andalite parent, but I had inherited some abilities from my Andalite parent, those include my eyes, my speed, the ability to use thought speak when not in morph, and the way I eat."  
  
She received a blank look from me. Marco chuckled, and said "She can eat a pizza with her feet."  
  
"What?" I asked. I thought that meant that she can pick up food with her feet and eat it.  
  
"Like myself," Ax explained, "Sara can absorb nutrients from grass through her feet. This is also an alternate drinking method. That is why I--enjoy taste so much. uch uch."  
  
My eyes bulged as this sunk in. Sara continued. "However, the mix of human and Andalite genes gave me some unique abilities, including speed morphing, or morphing extremely fast, the ability to acquire long deceased animals, and seeing who is a controller and who's not."  
  
"Wow." Was my only response.  
  
"You look slightly like Visser Three when he is in Human morph." Ax said acusingly  
  
I shuddered, "I....I do?!"  
  
"So what were you saying about the yeerk pool?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Anyways," Sara continued, "I decided to quickly morph in and check out what went on in there. I could only stay for ten minutes though because flies don't like the cold very much. But I could faintly get the form of a bug fighter. There is definitely a docking bay or something there."  
  
"Wait a sec," Rachel interrupted. "What about Lauren?"  
  
They all looked at me, then Jake said, "Give it to her." Little did I know that "it" was going to change my entire life.  
  
Sara then said "Its at my house, we need to go back. The locker room is not occupied at the moment, so Tobias and Ax can morph in there."  
  
"I agree. Eee." Ax said. "Seventy percent of the safe time has passed."  
  
With a little help from Marco, Tobias managed to get the popcorn away from Ax so they could get to the locker room to morph. Sara went with them in case something went wrong. I stuck around with I guess one would call the more normal people.  
  
"What's with Ax and the popcorn?" I asked Cassie.  
  
"Oh, he just is crazy about the sense of taste." She explained. "You probably noticed that he has no mouth as an Andalite. That means that he has never experienced taste since now. There have been more problems with Ax and taste than I want to remember."  
  
"What are you going to give me?" I asked.  
  
"Remember I talked about morphing a penguin?" Marco replied. I did not need any more explanation than that. A few minutes later, Sara, Tobias, and Ax returned. Ax immediately dove for the popcorn again which was saved by Marco.  
  
"Later Ax, we need to go back to Sara's house." Jake said. We left the Icicle dome and would return later. I walked with Cassie, Rachel, and Sara because we did not want anyone to get the impression that we hung out a lot together with Marco, Jake, Ax, and Tobias. Sara's house was not too far away, about a fifteen minute walk or so. Sara's house was fairly simple, like the ones usually seen around suburbs. The only difference was that there was a really large backyard, but I was more concentrated on the man working on the bushes out front.  
  
"Hi Uncle Gran!" Sara called.  
  
"Hello Sara," The man called back. "How was the performance?"  
  
"Great Uncle." Sara replied back. We were right next to him now. He was kind of odd in some way or another which I could not put my finger on. But, for some reson, I felt like I had alot in common with him. This uncle of Sara's was tall and thin, with glasses. "This is Lauren, a friend from school."  
  
I shook his hand politely. Then I got a thought speak message from Sara. My uncle is actually an Andalite that is a permanent human, like Tobias. My Andalite parent apparently asked him to look after me. He has been my family for as long as I have lived.  
  
She then gave a message to her uncle. She accidentally saw me morphing in my locker. Fortunately, she was not a controller so she has agreed to help. I am going to give her the technology.  
  
His expression turned serious. "Lauren, I hope you know what you are doing. It is a dangerous task and you would be safer being brainwashed."  
  
"I know," I replied. "But I know what I am doing."  
  
We then left Sara's uncle to the bushes and went inside. The guys were waiting for us, taking the back door. The blinds were closed, so Tobias had morphed back to his true form. Ax was raiding the pantry. Finding some Oreos and whipped cream, he came back and sat down munching happily. All the time saying "Taste! Taste! Wonderful ful." with whipped cream all over his face. Everyone laughed at Ax's antics, including myself.  
  
Once we had calmed down, Sara said, "Wait here everybody." and dashed up the stairs.  
  
"What is she getting?" I asked.  
  
"Let's just say it's no dice." Jake said.  
  
After a few minutes, Sara came back down carrying a large box. It was sky blue and fairly large.  
  
"This," Sara said, "Is a morphing cube. It will give you your morphing powers." I stared at the light blue cube.  
  
"That?" I asked. "That little thing gives you the power to get inside an animal's body?"  
  
"Well, actually, you don't get inside an animal's body- you get a copy of its DNA, then use this to create a duplicate animal- like cloning. You are inside this animal you create- your mind, your thoughts, your driving power. But the animal is there too, and you have to-" Ax broke off as he saw everyone staring at him.  
  
"Yes, it does." he replied and buried his face in a bowl of whipped cream. Rachel wrinkled her nose at him.  
  
"Lucky," she murmured. "He can eat all he wants and never get fat," I looked around helplessly.  
  
"Look, you guys, could you quit with the technical stuff and get on with it? I want to be a horse." I said, trying to sound calm, even though my heart was racing like a skydiver tied to a rocket. Sara, sneaking a taste of the whipped cream, held out the morphing cube to me.  
  
"Touch it," she said, "And think lovely thoughts." I guessed this was not important, but nonetheless filled my mind with thoughts of being a horse, and running through the grassy medows. Letting the wind comb my mane. Sara closed her eyes and sent the necessary impulses out to me. I gasped. Sara blinked.  
  
"Did it hurt? It's not supposed to." I smiled.  
  
"No, it didn't hurt. That feeling, somehow felt familiar to me. That's why I gasped." I replied. Marco rolled his eyes.  
  
"Okay, Lauren, welcome to the club. Get ready to join the seven talking animals with human brains save the world from evil slugs. Get ready to risk your life two dozen times a day. Get ready to face worse enemies you could ever imagine. Get ready to do all that- and keep an A in math all the same." I gaped at him.  
  
"Will morphing really let me get an A in math?" I asked excitedly. Marco moaned and held his head in his hands.  
  
"She's as nuts as you, Rachel," he moaned. Rachel was tapping her foot impatiently.  
  
"If you're quite done talking, can we PLEASE get on with our mission?" she asked.  
  
"Okay okay Xena, calm down, sheesh." Marco said and rolled his eyes at Rachel. I'm guessing that Xena is Rachel's nick name. "We need to get Lauren a morph. I think cockroach would be best for this."  
  
"Cockroach?!?" I asked in disgust.  
  
"No, I don't think that a cockroach would be good." Sara said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Even though they have wings, they would have to land on the ice in order to get to the door. That means we risk the chance of being sliced in half by a blade."  
  
"Blade?" Ax asked. "Is that how you managed to go so fast?" I guess they don't have ice skates on Ax's home world. He was starting to morph back to his true form. I turned away because morphing is not pretty, from what I have seen. But at least he took his head out of the whipped cream bowl.  
  
"Okay, cockroach is out." Jake said. "How about fly?" I think I nearly threw up at the idea of becoming a fly.  
  
"That works, but we would not be able to stay very long because like I said, flies don't like the cold very much." Sara said. She then called to Tobias, who was sitting on the banister, "Can you see any flies around?"  
  
The hawk looked around, using his sharp eyes. He then said, Nope, I don't see-- wait! There's one! He swooped down and carefully caught a speck of dust with his talon. When he came over, I could tell that it was a fly in his talons.  
  
Sara went over to Tobias and took the fly in her hands, making a barrier which the fly could not get out of. She walked over to me. "Now, all you need to do, is touch this fly, and concentrate. The fly will become silent and you will acquire its DNA."  
  
I took the fly from her hands, doing my best not to scream and drop the fly. It was very lively, trying to find a way out of my hands. Once it stopped flying around and landed on my hand, I concentrated on the fly immediately. It stopped flying around. Apparently, acquiring an animal calms it down and it sort of goes into a trance. After a few moments, I finished acquiring. I opened my hands to let the fly out. It just stayed there for a moment, and then flew off.  
  
I shuddered. "So I'm going to become a garbage eating, dung sucking, unsanitary little insect?" I asked.  
  
"Yep." Cassie answered. "But wait until you try flying."  
  
"Speaking of which," Jake said. "I think that Lauren should try a practice run of the morphing process, just so she knows what it is like."  
  
Sara nodded. "Good idea. If we have to get out of there in a hurry, she might need to morph very quickly." Sara then turned to me. "Morphing may seem like it is difficult the first few times, but after you get the hang of it, it will become much easier. What you need to do is concentrate on the animal you want to be. Picture yourself changing into that animal. Try it out.  
  
I did as I was told, and concentrated. It seemed like nothing happened at first, but then I felt myself falling, like I just jumped off a building. "AAAAAAA--" I started to scream, but my mouth had become a huge straw-like mechanism, that the fly used for food. Out of my sides, huge legs popped out like some form of crazy cancer. My eyesight dimmed, then vanished. For a moment I could not see until suddenly I could, only it was fractured into many pieces, like a mosaic or something. Out of my back sprung two clear wings. By this time, I was about a foot long, and still going. After a few more changes, I stopped, and somehow managed to keep my lunch down. I had become a full fledged fly. But the morphing process, I....I...I don't know. Somehow it seemed so familiar.I tried out the wings, then lifted off the ground. YYYEEEEHHHAAAAA!!! I screamed in thought speak which I now had. It was incredible, like I had just had two bags of oreos, which the fly mind was screaming to go for, and a couple of pots of coffee. This little bug had energy! ZOOM! I flew into the kitchen. ZOOM! I was buzzing around Tobias's head. ZOOM! I was upstairs. It was like being a daredevil. It was a blast!  
  
"Heeeelllppp meeeee!!!" I heard Marco say. I laughed in thought speak.  
  
"Okay, Lauren," Sara said. "Go upstairs and morph out. Just picture yourself as a human again. I put your clothes upstairs in the bathroom. I also have a leotard up there for you too, because we can only morph minimal clothing. We need to get to the Icicle Dome again."  
  
With much reluctance, I zoomed upstairs towards the bathroom. I reversed the morphing process and pulled on my clothes. I came downstairs for my first mission, defending the Earth.  
  
The black-haired teen who rented out ice skates stared with boredom at eight flies buzzing off across the ice.  
  
"Stupid flies," she muttered, getting out a small pair of skates. "Where do they think they're going, anyway? The food bar's over there." It was lucky this teen was not a Controller, or she would have realized exactly where the flies were going, and who they were.  
  
Oh man, this is so cool! I shrieked, doing a loop-the-loop through a skater's hairbow.  
  
Careful, Jake warned. A bunch of flies enjoying ice instead of dog poop might interest someone who knows what to look for,  
  
Oh, let her have her fun, Jake, Cassie said reassuringly. It's her first morph!  
  
That's okay, I said, falling in behind the others. I think the rush is behind me now. Man, but it's hard! This fly keeps wanting to go to the food place over there!  
  
I wouldn't mind a greasy cheesy- what is it? Nacho again myself, Ax added.  
  
I would have rolled my eyes if I could. Ax wasn't exactly the scariest alien-except when you had his tail at your throat.  
  
Okay, everyone, get ready! Rachel interrupted my thoughts. Here comes someone- hey! Wait! I know him!  
  
Visser Three! Cassie growled.  
  
Huh? What's a Vizz Ear? Why are there three? I asked.  
  
No time to explain, Ax said nervously. If Visser Three is here, this place is vital to the Yeerks' invasion. We must investigate! And with that exclamation, a fly zoomed down through the swinging door. Seven flies hesitated, then followed him. I didn't understand what was going on and was almost smashed when the door shut, but managed to slip through. Flies are good at slipping through. We followed the strange man who didn't look like an ear through a short hallway. Suddenly the hallway opened out into a huge room. The room was filled from wall to wall with about twenty huge luminous beetle- shaped spaceships.  
  
Holy mackerel! I exclaimed. A docking bay!  
  
You are correct, Lauren, Ax replied. Though I do not quite understand the connection with fish.  
  
Forget the fish, Marco broke in. Check out the ship in the middle!  
  
Woah! Rachel exclaimed. What kind is it, Ax?  
  
I have no idea, Ax replied. I have never seen a ship of that description in all my time in school.  
  
Maybe if we hang around a little while longer, we can figure out what the heck that ship is. Tobias suggested. We all signaled our agreement.  
  
Sara, I whispered. What IS a Vizz ear? Like in normal talking, thought speak can be directed to only one person, or a whole bunch of people, like whispering and yelling.  
  
Lauren, she whispered with some urgency. Visser Three is a very high ranking controller that is in charge of the invasion of earth. He is the only yeerk to ever take control of an Andalite. This means that he has the ability to morph like the rest of us, but he has a wider variety of extremely dangerous animals. Supposedly, he used one to kill Prince Elfangor, Ax's older brother. They think that we are a group of Andalites that are attacking him, instead of humans. That is why you NEVER speak directly to any controller while in morph. The only one that can do that is Ax, because he fools them into thinking that we are a group of Andalites.  
  
I then turned my attention to figuring out what that strange ship was in the center, by listening to the discussions going on around me.  
  
"How goes construction of my new blade ship Chapman?" The man in front of us asked.  
  
Then I saw Chapman, our assistant principal, come up. So THAT was why Sara had to make sure Chapman was not around when I first found out. "Visser Three, the blade ship is almost finished. Once it is, it will be ten times more powerful than it would have been if you had not sacrificed it."  
  
The Vizz Ear chuckled. "I believe I will name this ship-- the Jahar, after my host's pathetic wife. Heh heh, I believe I made my host very angry. He is fighting very hard."  
  
Then, the Visser started to morph. He looked a lot like Ax did when he morphed into a human. When Visser Three finally finished, he was an Andalite significantly older than Ax. He had a sinister look in his eyes.  
  
So that's it. Tobias whispered. I'll bet that they will use this if we ever try another steal of one of their Bug fighters.  
  
Is that what those ships are? I asked.  
  
Yes, they are the main fighting ships of the yeerks. Ax explained.  
  
Hmmmm. I heard Sara say. Everyone groaned. Apparently she has a lot of crazy ideas. If this is going to be the strongest ship in the yeerk fleet, then why don't we steal this, and fly it over Washington. It will be the sure thing to uncover the yeerk invasion!  
  
Well, I think that it is an insane idea. Remember when we were all caught in the Sario Rip that Jake and Ax keep talking about? Marco said.  
  
Well c'mon, we need an answer. Jake said.  
  
Quiet! Rachel hissed. They're saying something! Chapman was walking around the ship with the Visser, showing him the works.  
  
"But watch this, Visser. This is the best part!" Our assistant principal touched a panel on the side of the ship and slowly the ship shimmered and disappeared. Chapman adjusted the dials until the ship was back in view, but dim and transparent. Visser Three did not look impressed.  
  
"So. A partial cloak. How impressive."  
  
"No, no, Visser! Watch!" To our amazement, Chapman walked directly into the ship and out the other side.  
  
It's a ghost ship! Cassie said excitedly.  
  
It's insubstantial! Ax exclaimed. We Andalites have been working on this technology, but have not been able to perfect it. Stupid Yeerks, I heard him add, trying to retain his dignity. Visser Three looked impressed now. He slowly extended his hand. It passed right through the ghostly hull.  
  
Holy mackerel, I said. An insubstantial ship like that would be impossible to catch!  
  
Not exactly impossible, Sara said thoughtfully.  
  
Uh oh, Marco muttered. Sara continued.  
  
Imagine this, guys. The ship- wait! They're talking again! Chapman had walked back around to the Visser and adjusted the ship's solidity.  
  
"So, Visser," he began, "What exactly is the mission you want this new ship for?" The Yeerk leader grinned evilly.  
  
"We have already taken over the humans' Congress. Now we will go directly to-what is it- Washing Sun and put a Yeerk in the President." Chapman blinked in surprise.  
  
"Going for the big ones, huh, Visser? Who's going to be the lucky one?" The  
  
Visser hissed in anger.  
  
"Visser One," he replied. I heard Marco make a kind of strangled noise behind me.  
  
Who the heck is Visser one? I asked Sara. First there is a Visser Three, who is powerful to start with, now who is Visser One?  
  
Visser One is the most powerful Visser there is. It starts at One as the most powerful and goes down to probably Visser Thirty Two as far as we know. Sara explained. I guess Marco back there is getting a little too scared. Either that or you are being strangled by a piece of hair.  
  
M-me? Marco staggered. N-no of course not. Sara decided to drop it there for now.  
  
So what's your next crazy idea Sara? Let's hear it. Tobias asked with slight interest. I get the distinct feeling that Tobias likes Sara, but its not like LIKE. I can't explain it, like they have a bond of some kind.  
  
Well, Sara explained. If we can steal that ship, I doubt that there are any bug fighters that can outfly and outgun us once we are off the ground. If we can get that ship and fly it over Washington before they can control the President, then their entire plan will be foiled, Controller Congress or not.  
  
I guess for once I have to agree with Sara. Marco said. Everyone seemed shocked. I get the distinct feeling that he is not always the first one to volunteer for a mission. If it will blow the Yeerk's cover and get people to find out what is going on, then we should go for it.  
  
Then I guess we all agree on that? Jake asked. Everyone said their approval.  
  
We were about to go when we heard Visser Three speaking to Chapman again. So, when will my new ship be ready? He asked.  
  
"Tomorrow evening at the most Visser. Then we will be fully armed to fight against the Andalite Bandits." Visser Three seemed pleased. Apparently, Andalite Bandits is the name Visser Three has for us since he still thinks that we are Andalites.  
  
Well, at least we get some leeway. Cassie said. Why don't we hijack it tomorrow? After all, tomorrow is Saturday, and we can get Lauren some more dangerous morphs to fight with.  
  
Really? I asked. The idea of fighting them with something like a lion made my heart race with excitement, even though I didn't really have a heart at the moment. Which reminded me. Shouldn't we morph out? We've been flies for over an hour now. That prompted us to leave.  
  
We flew out of the secret docking bay and headed towards the locker room, which Sara said is locked when there is no practice. We flew in through a small crack in the door, where we morphed out and rested.  
  
"So where will I get these morphs?" I asked once I had a mouth again.  
  
"I think we'll make a pit stop at Cassie's barn before going to The Gardens." Rachel said. The Gardens is like a mush of an amusement part and a zoo. There is the amusement part with log rides and the like, and then there's the zoo part with things such as tigers, bears, giraffes, and so on.  
  
"Why do we need to go to Cassie's barn?" I asked.  
  
"You said you wanted to be a horse didn't you?" Marco asked.  
  
Cassie's barn is actually a Rehabilitation center for wounded wild animals. Her dad, who is a vet, takes any animal that needs care. The barn was filled with cages full of screeching animals. There were raccoons, birds, even a wolf who had lost an ear. Cassie at the moment was cleaning a currently empty cage. Tobias had taken his usual perch on Sara's shoulder. Ax had morphed to his human form so there would be no questions asked if anyone who was not an animorph came in.  
  
"You're in luck Lauren." Cassie said. "We just picked up a broad winged hawk who was in a battle with some crows. Those crows cut her up nicely too. Broad winged hawks are very tame so you should have no problem acquiring her."  
  
"Um- okay, you're the animal expert." I said. Cassie nodded and went towards a small cage. In it was a small hawk weakly perched on the stick in there. It was a lot smaller than Tobias, but it was definitely a bird of prey.  
  
"Easy girl," Cassie said with her voice soothing. She carefully opened up the cage and held her out to me. "Usual routine." Cassie said. "Just touch her."  
  
I gingerly reached in steering clear away from those claws and beak, and touched the hawk's wing. The poor thing became even more calm, almost falling asleep. After a few moments, I broke the contact and now had my second morph, which I liked a lot better than the fly.  
  
The we walked over to one of the stalls, where there was this big, beautiful Mustang-Stallion. "He's beautiful." I commented. "Can I aquire this one?" "Sure." Cassie replied. "Just be carfull, he's a wild one."  
  
I reached over to touch the horse. I snapped at me. "Ahh!" I screamed. "When you said wild one, I thought you just meant a bit hyper." Marco smirked. Cassie went over to the freezer, and took out a needle. "This should calm him down a little." Cassie gave the horse the tranquilizer, and it became a bit dopey. I reach for him again, this time aquiring him.  
  
"Okay people." Jake said, taking over. "Let's go get Lauren some dangerous morphs." Cassie's mother was busy tending a pregnant sea lion, and she said we could go in with Cassie to help with the other animals at the zoo's veterinarian center.  
  
So there I was, staring at a jaguar with a gash in his side, bandaged up. The jaguar was awake and glaring at us.  
  
"Do I really have to-"  
  
"Yes." Marco replied. I glared at him. Rachel rolled her eyes.  
  
"Lauren, you can't exactly fight the Yeerks with a fly, horse, and a hawk." I sighed.  
  
"You're all right, of course." I reached my hand carefully in between the bars. The jaguar lifted his paw and I was sure he was going to take a swipe at me, so I quickly concentrated on acquiring him. The big cat instantly became quiet, almost in a trance. I finished getting his DNA and pulled my hand out from between the bars. I turned to the others.  
  
"Okay, I did it. Can we go home now?" Jake nodded and smiled at me as we left the veterinarian room.  
  
"It's not that bad, Lauren. Ever acquire a lion- NOT in a cage?" I gulped and walked faster. We soon reached the point where I split up from the others.  
  
"Well, bye, guys!" I called, hurrying home. I had homework to do. This  
  
Animorph thing was a full-time job!  
  
I got home somewhat late, later than Mom wanted me to be home.  
  
"Where have you been?" She asked in a mother hen like tone of voice. "I thought you had been kidnapped by some crazy bandit or something."  
  
"Sorry Mom," I said. "The performance took longer than we had anticipated.  
  
"I thought so!" She said. "Like, maybe two hours later perhaps?"  
  
She had me cornered. So, I lied. "I was at Sara's house. Her team went there for ice cream, and she invited me so I went along." It was a lousy excuse, and my mom gave me the suspicious mother look.  
  
"Allright then." She said. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief. "But next time get here on time. You nearly gave me some gray hairs. Now go on and get to your homework."  
  
I trudged my way upstairs. I never realized that I would have to lie. I had never lied to her in my entire life! Jittery somewhat, I slowly did my homework, gnawing on what had happened that day. The rest of the day was normal. I had dinner with my parents, watched TV for a while, then went to bed, but I could not really sleep. All the things that had happened that day were still whizzing through my mind. I doubted that I would ever sleep again, but somehow, I managed to get asleep.  
  
The next day, around eleven, I walked over to Sara's house. Technically, her house was not too far from where my house was, about a ten minute walk if you walked fast. We were going to meet up with the others at the Icicle Dome to hijack that ship.  
  
I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. After a few moments, I saw Sara's uncle at the door.  
  
"Hello,- Lauren is it?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah," I replied, "Is Sara around?"  
  
"Probably up in her room writing, why don't you go ahead up?" Gran replied.  
  
"Okay." I said. He gestured up the stairs and pointed out which room was Sara's. I thanked him and I worked my way up the stairs and knocked on Sara's door.  
  
"Come on in." I heard from the other side of the door. I walked in. Sara's room was lightly furnished, with the bed in the center. Sara was writing something in a book. She looked up and saw me. "Hi Lauren! Ready?" Sara asked.  
  
"Sure, I guess," I stuttered. "What were you writing in that book?"  
  
"I haven't told the others yet," Sara whispered. "But this is a book which I will use to record all of our morphs that we acquire. This way, we can keep a running count and not forget. I also record our experiences, and any weaknesses we discovered about the yeerks."  
  
"But, all a controller would need to do is come in here, look through the book, and then he would find out everything about us."  
  
"Actually, I have a protection against that." She said, and walked over to a painting on the wall. She lifted it off to reveal a sort of safe that was built into the wall. Sara spun the combination, and opened it up. Inside was a large box that appeared to be seamless. She tapped it a few times in a certain order, and opened it up. Inside, was the morphing cube that I had used. She placed the book inside, closed up the box, and put it back into its safe. "Ready for your first mission?" She asked once the painting was back in place.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." I said. She closed the blinds, so no one would accidentally see us morphing, took off her outer clothing to show the same leotard that she was wearing when I first saw her as a half bird. I had on a black leotard that used to belong to my mother. Apparently, morphing is limited to a bare minimum clothing, just enough to keep ourselves from dying of embarrassment whenever we had to morph.  
  
I focused on my newly acquired broad winged hawk morph. They are pretty birds, with lovely undersides. At first nothing happened, and Sara was very far along. She said that her andalite/human genes gave her the ability to morph very quickly. Her mouth was hardening and protruding to form a deadly hooked beak. Her eyes moved to the sides of her head, and while all this was happening, she was shrinking and growing feathers.  
  
I focused again, and I started to shrink again like I did in the fly morph. My skin turned a pretty pattern color, then SHOOP! Out came feathers that came out of my skin, first melding themselves out of my skin, then gaining their feather-like consistency. Like Sara, my eyes moved to the sides of my head like they had a life of their own. My teeth dissolved and my tongue shrank. My mouth started to come out of my face to form a wicked beak. After a few more changes, I was now a bird. And I was almost as fast at morphing as Sara was!  
  
oh! cool! You can speed morph too? Sara asked.  
  
I guess so. I answered.  
  
The only reson I can is because of my andalite background. You are human, right? Sara questioned.  
  
I think so I replied.  
  
Cool. Sara said.  
  
This mind was not as urgent as the fly's was. It was slightly hungry, but calm. My eyes had now really sharp sight. I could see every indentation on the wall, like I was right at it. Sara was sitting on the door rim, calmly preening herself, which is like what a cat does, always licking itself to stay clean. I looked at her plumage. If I remembered my science class, she was a female red-tailed hawk, and somewhat larger than me.  
  
Wait a sec, I said. Isn't Tobias--  
  
A male red-tail? Sara completed. Unfortunately yes. I had gotten this morph before I joined the others. Now whenever I use it, it makes Tobias a little nervous, but hey! At least if we have to fly close by, we won't look suspicious right?  
  
Yeah I guess, but it still probably freaks Tobias out. I guess he doesn't like girls that much. We both laughed.  
  
Yeah. Tobias was always shy and a little odd, but in a nice kind of way. I always liked Tobias, but it's in a way I can't explain. It's really weird. But on to other things. Okay, ready for your first flight and possibly suicide mission? She asked.  
  
Yeah, sure I guess. I said, sounding slightly nervous.  
  
Okay, it's simple if you know what to do. Try to catch a thermal if you can. It will be a lot easier then. Thermals are like pillars of warm air that rise from the ground. Apparently, a hawk or any bird of prey can catch one and rise up like riding an elevator. If you get too nervous or start to fall, release your control on the hawk mind a little. The hawk knows how to fly, and this is your first try. I've been flying for a while now and even I get a little shaky now and then.  
  
I soaked all of this in and we flew out the window.  
  
Flying was incredible! It was like some sort of dream or something, but all I knew was that I was flying, everyone's life long dream. I flew a short distance from Sara, because a red-tail and a broad winged hawk might look suspicious to any bird watcher, especially if they were a controller. Sara was right about the thermals. I caught one and started to rise rapidly, like riding an elevator. It was wonderful! I was a little shaky still, so I let go slightly. Immediately I started to stabilize. She was right. Birds are natural born pilots.  
  
After about ten minutes flying, we saw some birds in the distance that were somewhat far apart. One of which I recognized to be Tobias.  
  
Hi guys! Sara called. She obviously knew that it was them.  
  
I'm telling you Jake, Spiderman would whip Batman's butt until he could not sit down for a month! I heard Marco argue to Jake. They are best friends if they bicker like that. I'll bet if Sara were human, she would slap her forehead in irritation at those two.  
  
They haven't stopped arguing since we took to the air. Rachel complained. PIPE DOWN MARCO! She screamed. Marco stopped in mid-sentence at Rachel's anger. We all laughed.  
  
Is this bickering natural for humans? Ax asked. He had a northern harrier morph.  
  
No Ax, only in those two, and Marco is a completely different species! Rachel said. She obviously had a rough day.  
  
Well anyways, on to the next adventure where we will all be hijackers. Tobias said. We all whirled around and headed towards the Icicle Dome.  
  
We landed in back of the Dome and morphed into flies. It was a doozy of a trip around to the front, I can tell you. Flies aren't used to very long distances. We slipped in the door with a group of Girl Scouts flaunting matching pink ice skates and began off across the ice. We were traveling low because flies get nervous about heights, and didn't think about the possibility of getting hit. Suddenly someone's flailing hand hit me.  
  
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! I cried as I fell, trying to work my wings. I landed on the ice and froze. Not literally- I could stand the cold. But lethal blades were whizzing around me. I wished I could shut my eyes, shut out the strange compound vision.  
  
Oh my God! Lauren! Sara called out in shock. Did you get hit? Where are you?  
  
On the ice, I called up. I'm scared!  
  
C'mon Lauren, you can do it! Hurry though, because you might get hit by a blade, Rachel warned. I built up my courage and leapt from the ice, beating my tiny wings. I watched as an ice skate slid cleanly through the spot where I had been just a moment before.  
  
Whew! Jake breathed. Okay, let's hurry to the ship! We didn't want to wait for someone to go through the door, so we slipped through the crack at the bottom. Flies can get almost anywhere. We hurried down the corridor to the Bug fighters, then to the new ghostly Blade ship. We buzzed in through the half-open hatch and landed on the not-quite-seats built for Taxxons or Andalites. The fly which was Ax buzzed over the controls and landed on a tall lever.  
  
Uh oh, he said.  
  
What uh oh? Marco asked nervously.  
  
I have no idea how to fly this thing, Ax replied. The controls are completely different!  
  
Great, Cassie moaned. Now we have to wait for Visser Three and One or whoever's coming, and take it over while they're here! That'll nearly be impossible!  
  
Oh, I don't know, I said, suddenly struck with an idea. One of us can spy and see when they come. When they're coming, we can quickly morph into something small but dangerous- anyone got something like that?  
  
I have a rattlesnake, Ax offered. And nearly all of us have skunks. Can we hide four skunks and a snake? And what about you, Lauren, plus Sara and Tobias?  
  
I'll spy, I offered.  
  
I'll stay a hawk, Tobias said. My talons and beak will be enough for me.  
  
I got an adder at Cassie's barn, Sara said. Okay, let's go! Lauren, you go spy. Watch your time! We've already been morphed for fifteen minutes. Ax, warn her periodically.  
  
Let's do it! Rachel cried. They began morphing back to wait and to look  
  
for hiding places. I hurried off to watch for the Yeerks' return.  
  
I waited impatiently, buzzing to and fro around the entrance. I don't mind saying I would have been bored to death, or at least to sleep, if Ax hadn't warned me about my time every fifteen minutes. Finally, after an hour had passed and we were wondering what to do, I heard noises.  
  
"Yes, Visser, It's quite ready. Maximum security, huh? No Andalite bandits anywhere near!" I recognized Chapman's voice and buzzed next to them so I could hear.  
  
"Good, good. I'll take my new Blade ship up to that big sticking-up thing they have at Washington- what is it called?"  
  
"Oh, the Washington monument, sir."  
  
"Yes, that's right. There we'll meet Visser One. But it won't go as planned, not there." It was Chapman and Visser Three, in human morph. They were now directly under the doorway into the bay. Chapman stopped walking and Visser Three leaned closer to him.  
  
"I will come on board Visser One's ship, as planned, to tell her where to go.  
  
While there I will implant this- (he held up a tiny chip) into her computer.  
  
It will cause her ship to suddenly blow its thrusters, after I am gone, of course. She will be out of sight and I will take over the President." Chapman stared.  
  
"How will you convince her not to take your ship, as was planned?" The  
  
Visser smiled.  
  
"My new ship is still a prototype, correct? I will simply tell her it is malfunctioning, and her ship is safer. Well, here comes my escort. Shall we be off?" I paid no attention to the strange aliens now arriving- the escort,  
  
I presumed. I hurried back to the ship to warn the others.  
  
Hey guys, I said. We're going to have company in a few minutes. I get the distinct feeling that we should morph. I went into a corner to morph as fast as I could to human and then to hawk.  
  
Cassie and Ax had already started to morph. Cassie's skin turned black and white, then became fur. She shrank while her spine made a sickening SLURP as it extended into a bushy tail.  
  
Ax became stuck together, like all his extremedes were glued together. His fur slowly became scales and he became more elongated. I was human now, and I focused on the DNA that was the broad winged hawk.  
  
Sara started to morph like crazy. Very quickly she was in an adder morph now. I was a full broad winged hawk now, revved up and ready for battle.  
  
Only seconds later, some very strange aliens came into the cockpit of the craft. I resisted the urge to scream in terror. The first looked like some overgrown centipede, huge and slimy. It had two large red eyes that looked like chopped Jell-O, and tons of tiny legs. It was sickening.  
  
The next one was even stranger. It was pretty much all blades, on its head, elbows, wrists, and legs. It had tyrannosaur feet and a snake like head. The third and fourth ones were another of the blade people and Visser Three himself.  
  
Okay, we've got a mutant centipede and a salad shooter. Marco said.  
  
What? I asked.  
  
The big centipede is called a Taxxon, Sara explained. They are allies of the yeerks, allowing themselves to be controllers. The so-called Salad Shooter as Marco puts it, is a Hork-Bajir. They were once a peaceful race despite their dangerous look, but then they were taken over by the yeerks. Now there are only two free Hork Bajir that are living in a valley in the forest behind Cassie's house.  
  
Okay, I replied. Let's battle.  
  
"Tsseeerrrrrr!" Tobias called and dove straight for the Taxxon's eyes.  
  
"Tsseeerrrrrrr!" I joined in and helped Tobias.  
  
Ppphhheeewwwtttt! Jake had sprayed the Hork Bajir with his lovely skunk scent. The Hork Bajir recoiled in disgust at the spray all over his body.  
  
"RRRooaaarrr!" The Hork Bajir yelled in frustration.  
  
Sara and Ax then struck together. They each sunk their fangs into the Hork Bajir's leg, and then struck the Taxxon. I guess the combination of adder and rattlesnake poison was too much for them. Both fainted.  
  
Okay, let's get these bodies out of here and let's get moving before anyone notices that there was a small battle here. Jake said, taking control. We did so, with Cassie watching Visser Three warily. We shoved him into a closet with the other Hork-Bajir that had been with them.  
  
Everyone morphed out, Sara being first and starting to putter around with the controls once more. She was obviously good with computers. I guess she would be the pilot for our mission.  
  
We were all out of our morphs now and back to our original forms. Jake and Marco had pushed the bodies out of the ship. Ax was fooling around with another console which I could only guess to be weapons. He looked in amazement.  
  
I don't know how, but after the Visser came in, the controls unlocked. We have access now. Ax said.  
  
"Well, it's better than nothing. Okay, I think I've got the hang of this thing, all we need to do is go." Sara said.  
  
Perfect, I believe that I have figured out the weapons systems. Ax added. We will have no problems with the Yeerks attacking us.  
  
"Well then let's go surfing in our new Porsche." Marco said.  
  
"Are we all ready?" Jake asked. We all nodded. "Sara, fire her up."  
  
Computer, power up. I heard Sara say. The ship hummed to life. Apparently like on Star Trek these computers respond to voice commands.  
  
Prepare weapons. Ax added to the command.  
  
Prepare for launch. Sara concluded.  
  
"Do we know exactly what is going to happen?" I asked.  
  
Well if its anything like a bug fighter, I suggest that you brace yourself. Tobias said.  
  
"Is everyone ready for the launch?" Jake asked once more. He was obviously very worried. We all nodded.  
  
Go to burn. Sara commanded.  
  
WWWOOOSSSHHH!!! We shot out of there like we came from a gun. I was thrown off my feet. Everyone else did too except for Sara and Ax who were ready for the force. After staggering up again, I looked out the screen we were flying overhead with many dracon beams following us. They all shot through the ship without causing a dent in the hull. Apparently Sara had activated the cloak.  
  
"Well," Marco said. "Let's go meet the president."  
  
Our trip was long and boring. We had to go to Washington now because we had to fool the yeerks into thinking that it was Visser Three going there instead of a group of morph capable humans.  
  
I listened to Jake and Marco argue some more about who would kick who's butt in a fight, Spiderman or Batman before going over to Rachel who was staring out the window.  
  
"What is it really like being an Animorph Rachel?" I asked. This trip was going to be at least an hour and a half long so I tried to make small talk.  
  
"Believe me Lauren, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into being an Animorph." Rachel said. "You have to lie constantly to keep your cover, your grades suffer, believe me because I am just barely keeping an C average. And many times your life is at risk in battles, and you can't morph out to heal because if you did you would be discovered, and possibly made into a controller. Speaking of which, we just recently discovered a way to force a yeerk out of your brain. If you are under control by a yeerk, access the instinct part of your brain. It is very hard, but it forces the yeerk out of your head. Not only is your life risked, your very freedom in jeopardy, you can't go to the mall every Saturday anymore! Do you go to the mall often?"  
  
"Not really," I replied. "I just go there for the essentials, and-" Rachel cut me off.  
  
"Oh good, I need some help with Cassie and Sara." Rachel replied. "Those two have to be dragged into a mall and forced to look at clothes. What do you say we form an alliance, and our mission is to turn those two into normal mall rats?"  
  
I was going to protest, but I said, "Sounds like fun.", mischievously.  
  
"Hey," Sara said turning around. "I heard that, and you will never turn Cassie and I into mall rats even if you tortured us to death. Right Cassie?" Cassie nodded. Sara then turned around to her controls again.  
  
I just stared out the window for pretty much the rest of the trip. At times we were up in the air flying over the earth, and at others to save time we flew to the ground with the insubstantiality cloak on so we just flew through buildings and houses. Most of the time we were skimming the ground.  
  
I was about to die from boredom but then Sara said pointing out the window "There's Washington D.C."  
  
What is a Washington D.C.? Ax asked.  
  
"Its where the world's most powerful man lives and rules the country." Marco said.  
  
"Ooh, so Marco did stay awake during class." Rachel said mocking him.  
  
Suddenly, a shrill alarm echoed through the ship. We all covered our ears in pain.  
  
"What is that?" Jake called over the alarm.  
  
Something's malfunctioning, we're loosing the cloak! Sara said, using thought speak so she didn't strain her voice. We're going to be visible and substantial in fifteen seconds! I started to shiver with fear as Sara fought the controls trying to reactivate the cloak.  
  
Sara nervously fiddled with the strange controls, Ax at her side. Visser  
  
Three started to bang on the closet door, and Ax called back,  
  
Shut up, Visser, or I'll pull out my skunk morph! I seem to remember you don't like skunks.... The banging stopped abruptly and Ax turned his attention to the controls.  
  
There! Our cloak's back up! he cried triumphantly. We cheered. It was safe to be loud, because the Visser's closet was soundproofed and he couldn't hear our voices.  
  
"Whew," Sara whispered, sitting back on the floor. (There were no chairs, as Andalites and Taxxons don't sit) But Ax was frowning, or at least looking worried. Sara noticed and quickly stood up. Her face was tense.  
  
"Don't cheer yet, guys," she warned, and we were silent. "We may have got back our cloak, but not our insubstantiality- we are very much solid and heading for- AAAAH!" We all stared openmouthed at the Washington Monument filling our viewscreen.  
  
Hundreds of people looked up as the tall Washington Monument suddenly decided it was a snake and shook from side to side. Someone shouted, "Earthquake!" and everyone began screaming and running around, as if they could get somewhere. One little man ran around in circles, shrieking,  
  
"Idiots!!! Idiots!!! It's not an earthquake, it's aliens!!! Aliens, escaped from Washington, yes yes, destroying our capitol, building by building!!!"  
  
A group of important looking men looked at the shaking monument and the running people, then at each other.  
  
"I wonder what went wrong with that idiot Visser's ship?" one of them asked.  
  
Another looked up at the monument again before speaking.  
  
"What I'm wondering is whose ship was it?" he replied. The first one frowned.  
  
"Oh, certainly Visser Three- his ship was only a prototype, you know. Far too rickety to entrust such a mission to." Nodding slowly, his companions followed him as they wandered slowly to the Capitol building, weaving in and out of the running people, who were slowly beginning to calm down.  
  
All this was being watched by eight very embarrassed Animorphs. Ax turned from the controls.  
  
It's fixed. We will not run into any more of your pencils. Ax comented.  
  
"Great timing, Ax. Oh, well, let's watch out for Visser One- she should be here." Right on cue, the communications terminal beeped. We looked at each other nervously. Jake waved toward the closet. Ax nodded, and Jake looked around at the rest of us. We all nodded, agreeing to his plan, but nervous about it. Ax went over to the closet. Sara morphed into her adder, and Cassie into her skunk. The rest of us hurried to hide. We heard Ax drag Visser Three over and place him in front of the communications terminal, his tail across the Visser's throat. The Visser's tail was tied to a heavy chair.  
  
Sara was positioned on top of the terminal, ready to strike. Cassie stood dangerously nearby, tail raised. Visser Three gulped and snarled at Ax.  
  
You child. You and your little friends will not have the best of me!  
  
Gurrg- Ax tightened his tail and pressed the terminal on. The angry form of  
  
Visser One appeared.  
  
"You moron! What did you do? The monument is still shaking, and the President, in fear that it might be some kind of attempt on his life, has flown off. We don't know where he's gone! All because of you!" She glared at the cowering leader, struggling with his tail's bindings, then frowned.  
  
"Are you all right, Visser? You look strange." The Visser looked at Ax. Sara hissed menacingly. With lightning speed he flexed his strong tail and its bindings disintegrated.  
  
I'm doing fine on my own, thank you! If you'll excuse me, I have a few Andalites to tend to- his tail flashed for Ax, and Ax's own tail barely kept the Visser away. Luckily we had another weapon. Cassie turned, aimed, and fired. She didn't have time to warn Ax away, but the Visser was closest. He shrieked.  
  
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGG!!!! Ax quickly used his last bits of energy to throw the Visser into the closet and lock the door. The Hork-Bajir still in the closet shrieked as his smelly leader joined him, and sounds of a struggle were heard. Ax breathed a sigh of relief. Sara, still on top of the viewscreen, looked down at it. Visser One was still there, smiling slyly.  
  
"Pull them in!" she cried, and something that looked exactly like a tractor beam began pulling the ship towards the Visser's docking bay. Sara turned the terminal off with her tail and quickly morphed out. Ax limped over to the control board and began working. Sara came over to help.  
  
"Can we come out now?" Jake called. Rachel had already run out.  
  
"Pow! Yuck! Cassie!" Cassie had morphed back to human form and was grinning.  
  
"I doused him good, Rach," she said, smiling. Marco came in, swaying from side to side as his nose detected the skunk musk.  
  
"Eyuck! Ax, I hope you're working on fixing the ventilation systems." The Andalite looked up from his work for a second.  
  
"Actually, I'm putting the insubstantiality back on- hold on!" Suddenly the invisible ship broke away from the tractor beam and shot into the ground.  
  
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" we screamed.  
  
Pull up! Pull up! Tobias yells  
  
"I can't Tobias, the controls are jammed! We are about to become pancakes!" Sara yelled.  
  
We were plummeting towards the ground at top speed. I was against the wall, pretty well saying my prayers. Visser Three and the Hork-Bajir were in the closet banging around because of the sudden changes in direction. They were lucky because they didn't have to worry about being tossed around the ship like a rag doll.  
  
"Hold on!" Jake cried. "Are the insubstantiality controls on?"  
  
Yes Prince Jake, they have not malfunctioned quite yet. Ax said.  
  
"I really hope that you make sure they don't, or we will be stuck in the ground." Jake said with fear. I figured out what he was thinking.  
  
"Oh yeah!" I cried. "Like that Star Trek episode where the Pegasus was stuck in that asteroid because its cloak malfunctioned and it materialized in a wall!"  
  
"Don't remind me." Marco said, sounding like he was sick to his stomach. "I saw that episode."  
  
Just then, the pavement rose up at us very quickly. We all started to scream, but then the pavement just vanished. Before us was dirt, dirt, and more dirt.  
  
Marco lifted up his head. "Are we dead yet?" He asked. Then Marco and the rest of us got up from cowering and looked at the viewscreen.  
  
"The ghost device was still on, so we are just plowing through the dirt." Cassie realized.  
  
"There, I've got the controls back on line." Sara said triumphantly, but with her voice shaking. She probably got an adrenaline burst like the rest of us.  
  
"Looks like Spock does it again!" Marco said grinning. Sara just glared at him.  
  
I walked over to the controls where Sara was working. "Spock?!?" I asked.  
  
Its a nickname he gave me when we first met. Sara explained in thought- speak. He calls me that because Spock was half human half Vulcan. I am half human half Andalite. See the relation? It's kinda like he calls Rachel Xena: Warrior Princess. Rachel I think is really an Amazon warrior at heart.  
  
"Oh." was my reply.  
  
I am picking up a hollow structure up ahead on the sensors. Ax interrupted my thoughts. He had curiosity in his voice.  
  
"What?" I asked and walked over. "What do you mean?"  
  
Marco came over as well. "I think it is like a secret base underground where the president and congress stay during a crisis. They thought that there was an assassination attempt going on so they freaked out and ran underground, like a bunch of rabbits." It sounded reasonable.  
  
"Well, we'll find out, because we are heading right towards it." I said. I was figuring out some of the controls and had already understood the sensor panel.  
  
Then, filling our viewscreen, was an iron structure, fairly large and cubical in shape. We went through a three feet thick wall, and then briefly shot through a few rooms with tables and drink machines.  
  
I saw a quick glimpse of the president and his family. They somehow were staring at us, with a whole group of army dudes with machine guns. Then I remembered that we were partially visible, like a ghost. We shot through and saw a few more rooms with congressmen and their family. The army dudes were shooting at us now but the bullets just whizzed through the hull and us. One of them flew through my I saw a quick glimpse of the president and his family. They somehow were staring at us, with a whole group of army dudes with machine guns. Then I remembered that we were partially visible, like a ghost. We shot through and saw a few more rooms with congressmen and their family. The army dudes were shooting at us now but the bullets just whizzed through the hull and us. One of them flew through my head, but I was insubstantial like the rest of the ship, so I was unharmed. Marco was leaping around the room trying his best to get shot.  
  
Sara then started us upwards again. We were pushed backwards by the force as we shot up through the ground. Then, blue sky filled our viewscreen as we shot towards the sky. I was never so relieved to see the sky above me. To our left was Visser One's ship, still searching for us.  
  
"You know," Rachel said. "This is our golden opportunity to disable Visser One's cloak and reveal to the world that we are being invaded. If we can shoot in just the right place, the cloak will be disabled!"  
  
We all looked at each other, and then at Jake.  
  
"You know that I'm not the leader." Jake said sounding annoyed, "But I still say let's do it!"  
  
We all cheered as Sara, Ax, and I went to the controls to power up for a battle that we thought was going to be totally easy.  
  
Ax managed to pull up the specs for the shields in the ship's computer. He found the right place to shoot and showed us. Jake and Marco clamored for the weapons station.  
  
"Oh, come on! I beat you in Doom! Remember- Level 26?" Marco begged.  
  
"YOU? Beat ME? In your dreams, buddy! Hey, leggo!" Sara glared at them, waiting patiently. She counted to ten and then pulled them both apart and took the station. She readied her trigger fingers and nodded to Ax.  
  
"Okay, Ax. Ready to go up?" Ax was looking interested in something up ahead.  
  
Wait a moment, Sara. There's a long hollow tunnel ahead of us, and I'd like to see what it is. I have increased the power to the cloak- we are now completely invisible. The prototype Blade ship slid through the rock and soil into a tunnel. Suddenly we were starting into two glaring headlights heading straight for us.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" we shouted, ducking under the consoles. But I had been to Washington, and I realized what this was. I threw myself at the controls, throwing the thrust lever straight forward. The headlights passed a hair below our insubstantial hull and screamed on its way. I carefully maneuvered the ship back above ground to a slight coast high above the Mall.  
  
Slowly everyone uncurled from their fetal balls, except Ax, of course, who can't exactly curl.  
  
"What was that?" Marco asked shakily. I shoved my heart back down from my throat and smiled.  
  
"Haven't you guys ever been to Washington? That was the Metro! The subway!"  
  
Enlightenment began to crawl its way across Marco's face.  
  
What is a subway? Ax asked. Sara quickly pulled herself together and began moving the ship.  
  
"A subway's an underground transportation system, Ax. Okay, Visser One, Visser One, where are you? Ah, there you are!" I could see nothing where she pointed, but there was a blip on the tiny screen below the main viewscreen.  
  
We headed toward the invisible ship. In the confusion Jake and Marco had forgotten about the weapons station. Now they remembered, and began elbowing each other for the place once more. This time, Rachel, not Sara, intervened.  
  
"Oh, this is soo unfair!" Marco complained. "All the girls steal the weapons!" Rachel looked condescendingly at Marco.  
  
"Marco, don't you have some homework to do?" she said in a perfect 'Mom' voice. Marco moaned.  
  
"Ahh, that's right! I have a math test tomorrow! Man, I can't even remember what chapter we're on!" Rachel ignored him.  
  
"Weapons targeted and ready, sir!" Ax looked at Sara and nodded.  
  
Good. Tell the Visser back there we're about to foil their little scheme,  
  
Tobias! Ax called back to Tobias and Cassie, who were guarding the noisy closet.  
  
I can't! called Tobias. It's soundproof, remember?  
  
I was kidding. Ax reassured him. Okay, let's go!  
  
Twin red dracon beams lanced across the sky, visible only to those looking for them, and hit the shields of Visser One's ship.  
  
The dracon beams laced out and headed straight for the Visser's ship. It scored a direct hit, but nothing happened.  
  
"What?" Rachel asked. "Why didn't anything happen?"  
  
"Because they probably have a shield like on Star Trek, dimwit." Marco said arrogantly.  
  
Visser One's ship shot back at us, but the Dracon just slipped through us.  
  
"Watch the ghost cloak Sara." Jake ordered. "We don't want the thing to fail while in battle."  
  
"Right." Both Sara and I said. Sara's fingers flew over the controls like she was playing a piano. We swung around and headed for another shot.  
  
"You know Sara," I said. "You are just like Tom Paris on Voyager, but not personality wise, I mean you have the same piloting skills that he has."  
  
"Thanks." She replied, never once taking her hands off the panels.  
  
"Stand by to fire." Jake said to Rachel. After a pause, he said "Fire." Another twin beam of Dracon came from our ship and hit Visser One's ship. I glanced at the sensors on my panel. There was a circle around the Visser's ship, that seemed to darken whenever she took a hit.  
  
"Why am I having flashbacks to Star Trek?" Marco asked.  
  
"Shut up Marco. I'm trying to concentrate." Rachel snapped.  
  
"I think a few more shots will do it Jake." Cassie recommended.  
  
"Okay, fine." Jake agreed. "Rachel, fire at will."  
  
"Which one's will?" Marco asked, right on cue. We all laughed.  
  
Rachel then fired rapidly at Visser One's ship. I watched as the shields fall rapidly. The other ship made a valiant effort at trying to get us, but all of the beams just flew through us. I felt that this was going to be a flawless victory.  
  
"Man, why do I get the feeling that we will soon be getting something bad?" Marco asked. Just like Marco to be pessimistic.  
  
"Those shields are down." I said excitedly as the circle disappeared.  
  
"Great." Jake said. "Okay, does anyone know where the cloaking device is on a Visser ship?"  
  
Well, Ax said. Unfortunately, the cloaking device is inside the ship, but we can disable the engines from out here. Rachel, just fire at the underbelly of the ship.  
  
"Right." Rachel said with enthusiasm. More dracon beams came out of our ship, right under to the bottom of their ship. After a few minutes, she stopped dead in the air.  
  
Yeah, take that you yeerks! Tobias cried. I admit that it was a terrible line, but it did express what we felt. Unfortunately, we didn't hear the activity behind us in the closet. We were just about to shoot off when Tobias stopped us.  
  
Wait a sec you guys! I just remembered something. If the shields are down, then we can get aboard and fight our way to the cloaking device. That way, it will be a double victory.  
  
We all looked at the hawk while everything sunk in. I was first to enlightenment. "That's perfect! Everyone will see the ship and the invasion will be foiled! I cast my vote to do it."  
  
Immediately, Sara and Rachel's hands went up. Cassie, Jake, and Ax weren't far behind.  
  
"I can't believe we're doing this." Marco said pessimistically. "Its insane I tell you, insane! We are going up against a ship full of Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. Those odds aren't all that great."  
  
"Yes, but you're still doing it." Rachel confirmed.  
  
"Yeah." He replied. We all laughed.  
  
"Haha, okay," Sara said after we were finished laughing. "I'm going to take her in insubstantiality and land her in the docking bay. That way no one will see us and we won't have to fight our way in. We all better start morphing though. I'll set her on autopilot."  
  
"Pull out that jaguar morph of yours, Lauren." Cassie said. "It's time to try it on." After that, her skin turned gray and became fur.  
  
I started to morph at a pretty fast speed. My skin first had this neat leotard pattern before becoming fur. My fingers shrank to become clawed paws. My ears wandered to the top of my head and became more triangulated. There was a sickening crunch as my knees reversed and I fell forward. I looked at the others. Ax and Tobias were going to stay the way they were. Jake was going through similar changes like me, but he was larger and his fur was black and orange. Rachel was getting larger and furry. Her mouth became full of teeth that were too big for her. Sara had hardly started at all, attempting to get the course into the computer. She had grown slightly, and you could make out the beginnings of scales. Marco had just about the same body structure, but he had grown in bulk and had black fur all over his body. I could tell he was a gorilla.  
  
I always knew Marco was a monkey. Sara said.  
  
"Wroursh!" Marco said. I guess his voice was changing, but I could make out that he had said "Hush."  
  
What IS Sara turning into? I whispered to Rachel. I've never seen a reptile that big.  
  
Do you remember that she has the ability to use the DNA of deceased animals? Rachel replied. That was all the info I needed.  
  
I was finishing the jaguar morph when the mind of the jaguar erupted. It was the calm coolness of the predator. It knew that there were very few that would harm it. I easily suppressed it.  
  
I quickly glanced at Sara again. Her head had expanded while her spine stretched to form a tail. When I saw the foot claws come, I knew that she was becoming the terror of Jurassic Park- The velociraptor.  
  
Well, Sara said. Here comes the ship.  
  
Our invisible and insubstantial ship docked with Visser One's ship. She didn't notice, because it's hard to notice something that's invisible and insubstantial. We leapt onto her ship, instantly becoming visible and very much solid. I snarled and leapt on a Hork- Bajir. When he went limp my heart suddenly froze. I had killed! I was a murderer! I sat back on my haunches, too stunned to move. A Hork-Bajir took advantage of my confusion and headed in my direction. The monster was instantly slain by Sara's deadly claws.  
  
Lauren, what's wrong? she asked. C'mon! We've got to fight!  
  
I killed! I sobbed. He's dead! I did it! Sara knocked over a Taxxon and came next to me.  
  
I'm sorry, Lauren. I didn't realize. This is your first real battle, isn't it? Back at the ship, it was only two... she paused to slash at a Hork- Bajir that was getting too close. Well, we haven't got much time, but let me tell you this. The Yeerks take over human minds, as you know. When they have your mind, you can't control yourself. You know this too. But what you don't know is what they do to the planets they gain after the species that lived on the planet is enslaved.  
  
What? I asked, controlling my inner tears. Sara continued.  
  
They take stock of what plants and animals are needed to keep the host bodies alive, then annihilate the rest. Just vaporize them. Think of that. We don't need animals to survive, do we? There are many vegetarians- Vegans too. So they would probably kill all the animals on the planet. Then they would get rid of the extra plant life. Just like that. The Yeerks are about as close to pure evil as you can get, excluding the Borg, of course. This would have made me smile if jaguars could really smile.  
  
All right, Sara. I said decidedly. Let's show those Yeerks how to fight! We leapt back into the fray.  
  
I fought with new energy now, with Sara's insight in my head. We fought beside each other causing much havoc among the controllers. My sensitive nose could pick up the stench of the taxxon that Sara had sliced in half. I never want to be a taxxon now I can tell you that. After the taxxon was dead, a whole mess of other taxxons rushed over, forgetting the battle to eat their fallen comrade. It was a feeding frenzy! I would have thrown up if jaguars can even barf.  
  
Whew! I heard Cassie say. Since she was a wolf, she picked up the stench much more than I did because of the more acuteness of her nose. Now I know I never want to be a taxxon.  
  
So does anyone know where we are supposed to go? Tobias asked after clawing a taxxon's eyes.  
  
I believe that there should be a map around here somewhere. Ax said looking around. Over there. He pointed to a panel over by the wall. Sara would you assist me?  
  
Go ahead. Jake said. Well cover you.  
  
I saw Sara jump over to the panel with Ax on her heels. I remembered from Jurassic Park that velociraptors are some of the most intelligent dinosaurs of the prehistoric. I took my post slaying any hork-bajir or taxxon who dared come close.  
  
I took a glance behind me and saw Ax activating a panel to reveal an inside schematic of the ship. Carefully maneuvering her claw, Sara punched some buttons and a white dot appeared on the map.  
  
The cloaking device is here. Ax said pointing to the dot.  
  
Oh really, I thought it was over here. Marco said sarcastically. Something was really ticking him off but I couldn't tell what.  
  
Okay, we'll split up taking both ways to the cloaking device. Tobias, Sara, Rachel, and Lauren take the first way. Marco, Ax, Cassie, and I will take the other way. We'll meet at the device. Jake said taking control.  
  
Seeya on the far side. Sara said.  
  
What? Ax asked.  
  
Its an expression Ax-man. Tobias explained. It means I'll see you after the adventure.  
  
Oh. Was Ax's only reply before we split up.  
  
Sara, Rachel, Tobias and I raced down the halls towards the cloaking device. Many times we were blocked by a group of taxxons, hork-bajir, and humans. I did my best to only injure the humans, not kill. It bothered my conscience even more to kill humans.  
  
Yaaa! Take that you taxxon! Rachel yelled. Taxxons were easy to kill off because they will generally swarm to any of their kind who was injured. We just had to kill one and the rest would be out of our way for a few minutes.  
  
Man, these guys are desperate. Tobias said after we ran into our fifth group of controllers. They were never this nervous.  
  
Well, this way you guys. Sara said banking a left.  
  
How much more is it? I asked.  
  
Just a little ways. Sara said. Here it is. In one of these doors. We were standing in a long hallway that was huge. I don't think I had ever seen that many doors.  
  
Well, Rachel said. Let's pick.  
  
We had barely taken a step when we were overwhelmed with controllers. They were surrounding us. I fought like I had never fought before. Hork Bajir and taxxons fell victim to my claws.  
  
I had just killed the last hork-bajir and was looking around. There was no one there.  
  
Sara? I called out. Rachel? Tobias? Anybody?  
  
I was alone.  
  
Suddenly there was a crash, and I looked up. A net was heading for me!  
  
Without thought, the jaguar's and human's instincts in me let me jump so fast  
  
I couldn't believe what I was doing. The net smashed to the ground beside me.  
  
Fearing another attack, I dashed into a little niche and hid until the net was pulled up and all was silent. I wondered what to do. If I went out there, would I be captured? Confused, I shrank into myself, trying to hide into the hole I was in. As I did so, I noticed in surprise the hole went back. I turned around and crawled into the hole. I crawled for a while. It was some kind of maintenance tunnel! After a while I reached a room. There was a map on one wall. I looked at it carefully and recognized where the cloaking device was. It was on the other side of the wall! I put an ear to the wall and could hear it humming. Then I heard something else. Someone was talking!  
  
I tried to listen. Jaguars' ears aren't especially good, but they aren't bad either. I could easily make out the voices.  
  
"So, the Andalite bandits, huh? Visser Three would give his new Blade ship for you, and more. You know that, don't you?" There was no reply. I didn't blame them.  
  
"Not very talkative, are you? Ah well, you have no need to be. You can just stay here, my little friends, while I decide what to do with you. See you in an hour!" I heard footsteps, and decided whoever it was that had been talking to my friends had left. I examined the wall and discovered an old wire that was frayed and cut up sticking through a hole in the wall. I bit it. The wire fell apart, leaving a hole in the wall. I put my yellow slitted eye up to the hole. I could see the others! They were in nets, still in their morphs. I called to them.  
  
Hey! Guys! I saw a head move and an ear perk.  
  
Lauren? Is that you? Where are you? That was Tobias.  
  
I'm on the other side of the wall. Who's guarding you?  
  
Nobody. We're alone, but locked in. I don't think they know they didn't get all of us. Rachel called out. I snorted.  
  
Great sensors they have, if they can't figure out there's a jaguar roaming the ship, along with a lot of blade aliens- Hork-Bajir, is it? And ugly worms.  
  
I fixed that. Sara said, sounding smug. Though I don't know how she managed to 'sound' like anything. I busted the sensors as we were being dragged along.  
  
Great! I cried. Hold on. I'm coming through!  
  
Wait, Lauren, I don't know if that's a good- SCRREEEECHH! My strong claws cut apart the wall, which was foolishly made of something about as flimsy as cardboard to jaguar claws. I leapt through the gap.  
  
Okay, I'm here. Now what? I looked around. Is that the cloaking device?  
  
Hey, how about untying us first? Marco asked.  
  
Oh, I said. Right. Here goes- I bit through the rope and ripped it apart with my claws. Seven tired-looking animals crawled out and began to morph back to human. While they were doing so I inspected the cloaking device.  
  
I hate how morphing looks anyway.  
  
This looks pretty flimsy, I said. What say we bust it up?  
  
"Bustin' it up sounds good Lauren." Jake said to me. "Just be careful that you don't underestimate that device."  
  
"Why don't you morph out for a moment Lauren?" Sara asked. "You are nearing the two hour time limit. We won't do anything until are all safely back in morph."  
  
Okay. I said and began to reverse my morph.  
  
Ax examined the cloaking device carefully. He looked for the best way to totally mangle the cloaking device.  
  
"Something isn't right." Cassie said "Wouldn't there be some guards or at least a shield of some sort?"  
  
"You're right Cassie." Rachel said. "Why do I get the distinct feeling that something will come up very quickly?"  
  
You better go ahead and morph back. Tobias said to everyone. The quicker we get this cloaking device down, the quicker we can get home.  
  
"Right, I agree with Tobias so let's go." Marco said and started to grow fur.  
  
We all crawled back into our dangerous morphs slowly, myself being last because I needed to rest.  
  
Man! Rachel said once she got her thought speak. I would much rather use my elephant morph. These yeerk halls are much too narrow.  
  
Cool! I said. You have an elephant morph?  
  
Yeah, and rather would be using it than my bear morph. That sucker can lift a hork bajir and heave it twenty yards. Rachel replied.  
  
Well, c'mon you guys, let's kill this cloaking device! Sara said.  
  
That's our Gabrielle. Marco said.  
  
Okay, Ax did you find the thing's Achilles heel? Jake asked.  
  
What does that mean Prince Jake? Ax said.  
  
It means did you find the device's weak spot? Jake explained. And don't call me Prince.  
  
Yes Prince Jake. Ax replied. I think he actually does have a sense of humor. It is here at the base. We can cut off the power supply and then dispose of it from there.  
  
Okay then, let er' rip! Rachel yelled.  
  
"RRROAAARRRRRRR!" I yelled and began to swipe my paws to the cloaking device. Then something incredible happened. It didn't stop running or die off. My claws went right through it!  
  
Oh man. Marco said with despair. This thing is a hologram! We've been had!  
  
BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP!  
  
The room was filled with light and sound. We had set off an alarm!  
  
Any minute now this room will be filled with controllers! Sara said.  
  
I say we fight through them and find our way to the escape pods. Ax said. These ships have similar configuration to the Yeerk mother ship so we can find our way to the escape pods and get back to earth. I still remember our escape.  
  
That works. I said. Let's do it!  
  
Right then, the door opened and in stormed about five hork bajir. We were going to make our escape.  
  
It was five to eight, and eight of us were dangerous animals. Marco whacked a Hork-Bajir flat against the wall. Rachel slashed one apart with her claws. Jake and I leapt about, slashing and biting. Ax, in his Andalite body, cut Hork-Bajir apart left and right.  
  
Were these guys really nice at some point? I panted, slashing my way to the door.  
  
Believe it or not, yes, Cassie replied, getting rid of the last Hork- Bajir. They used their blades for cutting apart tree bark!  
  
They were perfect for the Yeerks, Tobias said bitterly. Much more dangerous than the Taxxons, or humans. I stuck my head out into the hallway and looked right. Nobody. I stepped into the corridor.  
  
Well, the coast's clear. Let's- Unfortunately, I had failed to look left. Suddenly my side was cut with shearing pain. I turned, holding back a scream. A Hork-Bajir was standing there, rearing back to slice a death blow.  
  
NOOOOOO! Ax leapt into the hall, removing the Hork-Bajir's head from his shoulders with his trusty tail. I turned away from the gory sight and ventured to look at my side. It was bad. Very bad. I felt myself beginning to faint.  
  
Morph out, Lauren! Morph out! Forget the risk! Morph NOW! Marco screamed. I weakly searched my brain for the DNA of the human I was. I saw my long, dark brown hair, the outfit I wore to morph, the strange looking leotard combo.  
  
Slowly I emerged into the human body, bit by bit. Fully human, I was exhausted but unhurt. Now I really did faint.  
  
The next thing I knew, I was staring at a strange metallic ceiling. I sat up.  
  
"Lauren! Glad to see you back with us! You know, you almost ended up with patterned skin there. You just barely got rid of the jaguar's fur before you fainted." I smiled up at Cassie.  
  
"So, I take it we're on the escape pod?"  
  
"Yep," Cassie replied. "We dragged you to the docking bay. Once we were almost seen by a bunch of human-Controllers. Luckily they ran the other way." I sighed.  
  
"So this is what it's like to be an Animorph, huh?" I asked.  
  
"That's right," Marco said. "A completely insane existence where you kill aliens born on the other side of the galaxy who just want to eat tree bark, where you can't trust your own flesh and blood, and where you fly through subway tunnels in a ghost ship." Rachel glared at Marco.  
  
"C'mon, it's not that bad. Flyings great!" I said.  
  
"Oh yeah," Marco corrected himself. "The insane existence where you kill aliens who eat tree bark, you can't trust people, all that other stuff I said, and you can fly. That's being an Animorph."  
  
"Sounds like fun!" I commented. 


	4. Children of the Andalites Chapter 4: The...

The Visions  
  
My name is Sara. Just Sara. I won't tell you my last name, or even my middle name. It's too risky. I can tell you though that my Andalite name is Wisteria-Delphini-Saramistrum. If I told you more than that, the Yeerks might find us and enslave us. We won't let them do that though. They're everywhere, even though people don't know it. They could be anyone, your teacher, the store clerk, or even your own parents. One day though, the Andalites will come, and help us defeat the Yeerks, if they come. Until then, we fight.  
  
It sometimes amazes me though, how much we go through, but still we manage to stick together, more with some than others. Tobias and I is one of those examples. It was this adventure that I think was one of the craziest aside from the one with Visser Ones's ship. Here is how it happened.  
  
Lauren and I were walking home from school one day. Lauren is the newest member of our "team". She is also the youngest of us. Both Lauren and I are in the same math class, and it was my fault that she got into this. I happened to be morphing in my locker for a "meeting" with Tobias. The lock got stuck and I started to make noise. Lauren then found me as a half morphed bird/human creature.  
  
You see, my friends, that would be Jake, Marco, Rachel, Tobias, Ax, Lauren, and myself, all have the power to morph, or become any animal that we touch. This is our only weapon against the Yeerks.  
  
If you saw a Yeerk in its natural state, you would see a slug that was about the size of a rat. It looks harmless, but believe me they aren't. They have the power to go inside a victim's brain, fill into the cracks and crevices, and take over that person. They've taken over countless species, including the Taxxons, the Hork-Bajir, the Gedds, and many others. They are after us now, and will stop at nothing to take control of our planet. And they would have by now if it weren't for us.  
  
But back to what was happening at the moment. Lauren and I were walking home from school, Lauren going to my house supposedly to "study." In reality though we were going to have a flying lesson taught by one of the best teachers around.  
  
"I still don't get the importance of a flying lesson, Sara." Lauren said, almost a whiny expression in her voice. But believe me, in battle she is definitely not whiny. "Why can't I just let the hawk do all the flying?"  
  
Lauren stands slightly shorter than me, but not by much. She has this incredibly long black hair that she always keeps down. I too, keep mine down, but I have a braid in the middle. She is very smart, otherwise she wouldn't be in my class being a couple of years younger than me.  
  
"Believe me Lauren," I explained. "There will be times when you will need to know how to fly, or you may run into a tree head on."  
  
"I won't ask." Was her only reply.  
  
Just then we came up to my house. It is pretty small, considering that only myself and my uncle live there. Uncle Gran was over at the Gardens at the moment working on the new program for the Gardens. He is a whiz at computers, maybe that has something to do with the fact that he was originally an Andalite, but at the request of my Andalite parent, he came to earth to watch over me. He has been my family my entire life. He has never told me who my father was, only that he was a great warrior and is now dead, killed by the Yeerks.  
  
You are probably wondering what the heck I mean. In other words, I am half Andalite. Because of this, I inherited some special abilities, and some other abilities that I guess come with being a smorgasbord of different species. I will clear things up on that later.  
  
I unlocked the door, and we went inside. Both Lauren and I dropped our stuff on the couch and sprinted upstairs to my room. You see, my house is one of the safest places my friends and I can be.  
  
"Gosh, Marco is right." Lauren said as she took off her outer clothes to reveal a black leotard. Morphing is somewhat limited, so we can only morph skintight clothing, leotards for the girls, bike shorts and tight t- shirts for the guys. It is just enough to keep ourselves from dying of embarrassment when we morph in front of each other.  
  
"Hmm?" I asked. I was wearing my blue practice leotard I wear when skating sometimes.  
  
"We do look like some refugees from the circus." Lauren said. We both laughed.  
  
"Okay, enough of Marco's smart alec ways and let's get flyin'" I said. We both knew exactly what that meant.  
  
Slowly, Lauren began to change. I did also but at a much quicker pace. I fell rapidly, not in the suicide sense, but shrinking at an alarming rate. My skin gained a very pretty pattern, and then individualized to become feathers. My mouth and nose protruded to form a beak. My ears shrunk to virtually nothing. My fingers melded into one another to form wingtips. My feet sprouted deadly talons and got all scaly. Within about thirty seconds, I had become a red-tailed hawk.  
  
Lauren's morph was a broad shouldered hawk, a smaller cousin of my morph. Strangly, Lauren was finished morphing at the same time I was.  
  
I swear, I'll never grow out of the thrill of flying. Lauren said in thought-speak. When in morph, we use telepathy to talk to one another.  
  
Ditto. I replied. We flew out of my open window out towards the forest, where we would meet Tobias and Ax. We landed on a branch. Underneath us was a blue-and-tan furred creature with a human-like torso. The difference was this- humans have mouths. They also have two eyes. And they don't have blue skin. To top it all off, or to bottom it off actually, was a huge scorpion-like tail, just as deadly as the little version. This creature was Aximili- Esgarrouth- Isthill, Ax for short. He's an Andalite. They're the ones who will come and save us some day. Perched on a nearby tree was a red-tailed hawk. His name was Tobias. Tobias got stuck in hawk morph way back when it all began- before I was an Animorph. That's the curse of morphing- if you stay in a morph for over two hours, you are stuck in that morph. Amazingly, he got back the power to morph from an Ellimist- an all-powerful alien. But he's still a hawk.  
  
Hi, Lauren, Sara, Tobias said. Ax's decided something. When're the others getting here? As if to answer his question, four birds of prey suddenly swooped down out of the sky. I started to morph out of my hawk shape. Lauren followed, as did the rest of the Animorphs after landing. Lauren and I was done before them- I am a very speedy morpher.And Lauren? She's a human, I have no idea why she can speed-morph. I have this ability because of the strange mixing of Andalite and human genes inside me. I don't know how it happened- I don't understand genetics. Soon we were all demorphed. We sat down on the grass in front of Ax. Tobias flew down to land on my shoulder. I noticed Rachel looking at him strangely, and wondered about it. But then Ax took my attention.  
  
You remember when we rescued Tom, and Sara was in his head as Yeerk morph?  
  
"No." Lauren said. Marco rolled his eyes.  
  
"You weren't there, dimwit." Lauren made a face at him, then turned back to Ax.  
  
"Go ahead, Ax. I'll learn about it later." Ax nodded and continued.  
  
While there, Sara made Tom call out the secret we had learned- about controlling the Yeerks- to the prisoners.  
  
"They definitely heard me," Sara interrupted. "They all turned toward me, um, Tom, and some of them called out, asking who I was, what I meant. Sorry, Ax, continue." Ax was looking a little irritated.  
  
As I was saying... the prisoners heard the advice, and undoubtedly tried to use it. So why haven't we seen raving lunatics, shouting 'The Yeerks are here! They're taking over!' and such? Something is wrong.  
  
"Yes," Rachel agreed, "And we have to find out what."  
  
"Well," I said. "The only way I can think of is to go up and ask them."  
  
"What?" Marco said with shock. "You're kidding right? We just go up and ask them."  
  
"No." I said. "We infiltrate the Yeerk pool, yes again, and morph into something pretty tiny, and then ask them, but we will need to use Ax as our diplomat, because Andalites sort of have an accent. I might be able to help a little, since I am partially Andalite, but not by much."  
  
"Pardon me for asking," Lauren interrupted. "But what exactly is a Yeerk pool?"  
  
The Yeerk pool is where Yeerks go to regenerate in their natural state. Tobias explained. Every three days, they have to go to an artificial Yeerk pool where they soak up Kandrona rays. If they don't, they starve to death.  
  
"Oh." Was her only reply.  
  
"Believe me, Lauren, its no picnic." I said. "I had to be in the Yeerk pool itself for a while. Don't even bother to ask."  
  
"Okay then, so when will this little expedition be?" Jake asked.  
  
"Oh shoot." I said.  
  
"What? What?" Rachel asked almost frantically.  
  
"I just remembered something." I said "When we rescued Tom, we pretty much persuaded to move their entrance. We have no clue where to go now. The school is out, the mall is pretty much out."  
  
"What about the docking bay?" Lauren asked.  
  
"No, its too far to be an entrance to the Yeerk pool." I replied.  
  
Well, maybe not all is lost. Tobias said. He seemed to hang onto his words.  
  
"What are you talking about Tobias?" Cassie asked.  
  
Well, remembered when I was visited by the Ellimist? Sara and Lauren weren't here at the time. Tobias asked our group. They all nodded except for me and Lauren, who had no clue what was going on. Well, I had found a possible entrance over by the car wash. Why don't we go check it out over there? Its worth a shot.  
  
Everyone looked at each other, debating whether or not we should storm the car wash for a Yeerk pool entrance.  
  
"Its worth a shot." Rachel said. "What have we got to loose?"  
  
"Oh lets see," Marco began, "I can lose my chance at a driver's license, my life, my sanity, but I lost that a long time ago."  
  
"Oh hush Marco." I said to Marco.  
  
"Well, then its settled." Jake said taking command once again. He is sort of like our leader. "We will storm the car wash say, Saturday?"  
  
None of us had anything planned, so our date with the Yeerks was that Saturday. Not that we have any time for plans, what with saving the world and all. We said our farewells and departed our own ways in morph of course.  
  
I thought that since we weren't going to the Yeerk pool until Saturday and it was Thursday, we'd have a quiet Friday. I was wrong.  
  
"Remind me again," Cassie moaned. "When did I agree to this?" We were at the mall. We had been dragged there by Rachel. Lauren was tagging along behind, looking relieved that she wasn't at the front. You see, Cassie and I aren't exactly mall demons, and Rachel's goal was to convert us. I could almost see her staring at us with strange metal components on her face, saying-  
  
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. You will buy. You will buy. You will-" My reverie was broken when Rachel said,  
  
"Ah! Here we are!" She dragged us into the Gap.  
  
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," I moaned.  
  
"Okay, Lauren, let's go!" Rachel cried like a drill sergeant. "Choose a shirt!" Sara and Cassie picked up a shirt. "Now, Lauren, what do we do next?" Lauren looked at Rachel like she was sprouting wings, which she had done from time to time.  
  
"Um... try it on?" Rachel smacked her forehead.  
  
"I thought you were a mall person, Lauren! Oh well, three pupils isn't enough to handle. What you do next is choose some other shirts, in case it doesn't fit! Everyone knows that. Let's go!" Somehow, in the space of five minutes, Lauren, Cassie and I each had five shirts, five skirts, two pairs of shorts, and a few accessories, and I hated them all. Rachel pushed us toward the dressing rooms, trying to explain color coordination. I dashed in my stall, breathing a sigh of relief. I do NOT like shopping. Reluctantly, I tried on one of the outfits and looked in the mirror, expecting to see what I always did- a medium-sized girl with a long auburn braid and green eyes, in the strange new outfit. What I saw was entirely different. The only thing that stayed the same was my eyes. In the mirror was reflected a purple-tinged Andalite slightly smaller than Ax, with a long scratch down one of its arms. I had scratched my arm this morning falling down the front steps. I looked down at my arms. I was certainly not an Andalite- why did the mirror say I was? I fearfully peeked through the curtain.  
  
"Rachel," I gasped hoarsely. "Come look," Rachel came over and criticized the image in the mirror. "What do you see?" I asked nervously.  
  
"I think the skirt clashes slightly with your eyes, and the shirt's buttons just don't do it against your hair. Try the purple flowered skirt, there, and that shirt with the strawberries." And with that, she swished out to check on her other pupils.  
  
"No! Rachel, come back!" I called. She returned, sighing. "Are you sure you don't see an- an-" I lowered my voice to a whisper. "An Andalite?" She started, putting a finger to her lips.  
  
"Shush! No, of course I don't! Why? What's wrong?" I turned to the mirror.  
  
"Because it's there! I see-" I broke off suddenly. All I saw reflected in the mirror was me. And I had to admit, the buttons really were an ugly color.  
  
"You're not serious Sara, an Andalite?" Cassie asked.  
  
We were at the food court, having lunch. I just had frozen yogurt, because the incident with the mirror had left me sort of shaken, and my stomach wouldn't settle for anything else. I told Rachel, Cassie and Lauren about my suspicions at a whisper of course so no possible controllers would hear us. They were both amazed and shocked in disbelief.  
  
"Are you sure Sara, I mean, are you positive you were just not feeling well and started to see things? Are you even sure there was a mirrior? Because mine didn't have one." Lauren said.  
  
"Come to think about it, there wasn't a mirrior in mine either." Cassie explained.  
  
"No, the two stalls you guys went in don't have mirriors, I dunno why, but they never have had mirriors." Rachel explains.  
  
"No, I'm absolutely positive that I saw an Andalite where my reflection should have been. It looked kinda purplish, and smaller than Ax." I explained.  
  
"Okay, that's strange." Lauren said.  
  
"Maybe not.." Cassie trailed off.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked. I was anxious to find out what I had actually seen.  
  
"Remember when Ax said that Visser Three with purple fur looked like some kind of Andalite female?" Cassie said.  
  
"So?" I said.  
  
"Now I see what you are talking about Cassie." Rachel took over. "What you saw was an Andalite female."  
  
"Oh man." I started to feel faint.  
  
"What? What?" Lauren asked with concern. "I didn't think that it would be THAT shocking."  
  
"No, no Lauren, its not that." I explained. "What was weird was that this Andalite had a long scratch going down her arm, exactly like mine. I get the distinct feeling that it was me as a full Andalite, not a trace of human DNA."  
  
"Whoa." Everyone said at the same time as enlightenment passed through.  
  
They were all staring at me, then I saw three familiar faces in the crowd behind Rachel's head. It was Marco, Jake, and a very squinty Tobias. He was in human morph, and so used to normal hawk vision that to him, having normal human vision was like being nearsighted.  
  
Hi guys. I whispered over to them. They glanced over to our direction, and moseyed over to our table, careful not to look like they had too much of a purpose.  
  
"Hi Rachel." Jake said. Jake and Rachel are cousins.  
  
"Hi everyone." Marco said. "Whoa, Cassie and Sara are at the mall!"  
  
"Shut up, Marco." I hissed at Marco, and I'm usually not that testy.  
  
"Uh oh, something's up." Tobias said looking at the glare I was giving him. "What happened?"  
  
I related the entire mirror incident to Marco, Jake, and Tobias. They just stared at me like I had just said that the Yeerks won the battle for earth.  
  
"An Andalite in your mirror?" Jake asked.  
  
"Would you prefer a hippo in your bathtub?" I snapped.  
  
"But really?" Tobias asked.  
  
"Yeah, I saw a female Andalite in the mirror, and it was me as a pure Andalite. I could tell because we both had scratches on our arms." I explained.  
  
"Maybe we should ask your uncle about this." Jake suggested.  
  
"I think he's right. He might be able to shed some light on the subject." Lauren said.  
  
"Okay then, back to your house Sara." Rachel said.  
  
We walked outside and started to head to my house, which is a short walk from the mall. Tobias, Jake, and Marco walked on the other side of the street to avoid suspicion. We had gone a short ways when I saw two boys step right into their path. I recognized them as Woo and Drake, the school bullies. Woo is somewhat smart, but a total jerk if I ever knew one. Drake has a brain the size of a kumquat and the IQ of phlgem. Either way, I have heard horror stories of what they did to poor Tobias. They would stick his head into the toilet, flush the toilet, and start to laugh. He was rescued by Jake and has stuck by him ever since.  
  
"Well if it isn't Marco-roni and Swirlie Boy." I heard Drake say.  
  
"Where have ya been the past year? They got new toilets." Woo said.  
  
I started to fume, like a volcano about to erupt. Rachel started to stride over to the other side of the street, but I ran over there. Before either side could say anything I stepped between Tobias who was beginning to shake and Woo. I was right at his eye level, with my green eyes blazing.  
  
"What exactly do you think you are doing?" I asked Woo.  
  
"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing. Nice eyes." Woo said. I get the distinct feeling he was trying to sweet talk me into stepping aside. It didn't work. "Why don't you step aside sweetie and let me handle these geeks."  
  
"Oh yeah, sure, OVER MY DEAD BODY!" I yelled.  
  
"I see we have a tough little critter." Drake said. "Let me handle her."  
  
"Sara don't--" Marco started to say, but then Drake came towards me fists up.  
  
In ways I am like B'Elanna Torres from Voyager. I have two sides where one is more aggressive, which is my Andalite side. The rational side is my human side. I let go of my rational human side and let the Andalite in me surface. Drake swung, but I was too quick for him. I ducked and punched him hard in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of him. Gasping, he retaliated and came charging like a mad bull. I rolled my eyes and calmly stepped to one side. He roared on, tripped and fell. I kicked him in the back and his face went into the dirt. That's when the two bullies decided that they had had enough. They ran off in the other direction. Luckily there was no one around to be a witness to the fight.  
  
"Oh man Sara, I never knew you had that in you!" Rachel said. I could tell that she was slightly jealous and didn't have a chance to fight them.  
  
"Tobias, I think you have a bodyguard." Marco said. What puzzled me was that when I heard Tobias being threatened, I started to be very angry and protective. I felt like this had some connection to the Andalite in the mirror.  
  
I shook aside the strange thoughts worrying my head and we walked the rest of the way to my house. Gran stood in the doorway.  
  
"Pretty good moves, Saramistrum," he said with a smile. He calls me that sometimes, but never in public.  
  
"Something strange is going on, Gran," I said worriedly. He nodded and ushered us inside. We sat around the kitchen table, except Tobias, who morphed out and perched on my shoulder.  
  
"So," Gran said, "What's the problem?" I wiggled in my seat, trying to figure out the best way to explain.  
  
"Well, see, Rachel took me'n Cassie to the mall to teach us the realm of the shopper, and when I went into the dressing room and looked in the mirror- I saw an Andalite! A female- with purple fur- and she was a bit smaller than Ax. But the scariest thing is- remember when I fell down the steps this morning?" I showed him my scratch. He nodded, looking confused. "Well, the Andalite had a scratch of the same length on the exact same arm!"  
  
"We think this Andalite is reproduction of Sara's Andalite DNA- but that's the part I don't understand. If Sara's dad was a human nothlit when he was here, and his wife- whatever her name was- was human too, then how could Sara have any Andalite DNA at all? How could she have the abilities she has?" Rachel asked, looking confused. Gran sat back, looking at us but not seeing us as he recalled his Andalite past.  
  
"When you are a nothlit, you retain your previous DNA- and your previous mind. The other DNA will assert itself after ten years- if you have a child before then, there is a chance the child will pick up some of the DNA you still have inside you." We all stared.  
  
"Clear as mud," Marco said.  
  
"No, I think I understand," Rachel said. "When you get stuck in a morph, you keep the DNA you had before you got stuck for a long time. Your father had a kid before his Andalite DNA was gone, and so Sara got some of the DNA."  
  
"This is all very interesting," Jake interrupted, "But that doesn't explain what is happening to Sara." Gran looked uncomfortable.  
  
"Yes, Gran, sir," Lauren said. "What's going on?" The nothlit sighed.  
  
"I have no idea," he said sadly.  
  
I spent a good portion of the rest of the day with Ax and Tobias in the forest. Uncle Gran had to go to a meeting of the managers of The Gardens to discuss a problem with the new computer system. He was gone the rest of the day, and I was sort of disturbed by these crazy phenomenons. First an Andalite in the mirror, then I get fumed and nearly punch out Drake's lights out. Not feeling very hungry, I went straight to bed after coming home.  
  
Around midnight, my eyes snapped open for no reason. I wasn't sleepy anymore. I must have counted sheep for a long time before deciding what I was going to do. I got out of bed and pulled on my morphing outfit. I focused on the DNA of a master of the night- the barn owl.  
  
I grew snowy white feathers and deadly claws. My mouth and nose formed a deadly beak while my arms switched position to become wings. I flew out the door towards the gardens.  
  
I easily flew over the guards' heads without any suspicion. They were just thinking it was a barn owl out hunting. Boy were they wrong. I flew over the gates and morphed out quickly.  
  
The gardens is kind of a cross between an amusement park and a zoo. I headed towards the zoo section and strode purposely through the exhibits. I knew exactly what I was looking for and was just looking for it. Finally, I came to the cheetah exhibit. She was sleeping peacefully.  
  
"Nice kitty," I said warily. She had some huge claws. "Good kitty." Gingerly I reached in and touched the cheetah's fur. Once I came in contact, her eyes snapped open. I quickly focused, because acquiring an animal causes it to go into a trance except for some rare animals. Cassie told me once that poor Tobias was stuck on a dolphin's back acquiring, but it just kept leaping. By the time he broke contact, he looked like a drowned rat. I withdrew my hand and morphed back into my owl body before any guards came around. I got the distinct feeling that I was going to need speed. Only one more acquisition and I would be done for tonight.  
  
I flew home and morphed out. By this time I was becoming very tired. Very rapid morphing can take a lot out of a person. I walked over to a box on my dresser. In very neat rows were what looked to be normal rocks. However, they had labels like "Tyrannosaurus Rex" and "Velociraptor". These were genuine fossil chips from various dinosaurs. Don't ask how I got them- it's a long involved story that has to do with Gran's sudden interest in dinosaurs and an ancient Gedd museum... Anyway, I took out the fossil labeled "Triceratops". It was just a simple chip, but I had the ability to acquire and morph deceased animals as long as I had a genuine sample. This is a benefit of being a Andalite/Human hybrid. I focused on the fossil, and slowly acquired the prehistoric DNA. I gingerly put the fossil back into is proper place, and went to bed, plenty tired by now.  
  
The next morning, I didn't wake up until noon. Uncle Gran was still asleep too when I woke up. Apparently he didn't get home until around at least three in the morning. I pester him constantly about he should not stay up so late on his project, but he never listens to me. I still love him dearly. He has been my family ever since I was just a baby.  
  
I ate a can of soup before walking over to Lauren's house. We were already friends before she joined our group, but then we became better friends after she discovered me as the bird woman. She and I have fairly close houses.  
  
I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Her mother answered, and I discovered how much she and Lauren looked alike. Her mother had the same dark hair as her daughter, but it was shorter.  
  
"Hi." I said nervously. This was my first meeting with Lauren's mom. "I'm Sara, a friend of Lauren's from school."  
  
"Oh hello." Her mom said politely. "I'm her mom. Pleased to meet you."  
  
"Is Lauren around?" I asked.  
  
"She's in the living room. Come on in." Was her response.  
  
I came in and Lauren's mom led me into a homey living room. Lauren was on the couch reading a book.  
  
"Hi Lauren." I said.  
  
"Oh hi Sara!" Lauren said. "Glad you could come. I've been really wanting to see Titanic, but was too nervous to go by myself." Our excuse to get Lauren out of the house to get to our meeting and then to the Yeerk pool was that we were going to see the three hour long "Titanic". It was a fairly decent excuse.  
  
"That's okay. You ready?" I asked.  
  
"Sure. Bye mom." Lauren said. "I'll be back in a few hours."  
  
We walked out the door and started to hike to Jake's house. His parents were going to be out the rest of the day, and we didn't have to worry about Tom anymore. Tom is Jake's big brother and a former Controller. I had rescued him from a life of a Controller, and we discovered the Yeerk's weakness while at it. Tom now had the power to morph after a little gun crossfire we were stuck in. He was an occasional helper in our fight against the Yeerks, but he was not a full fledged fighter.  
  
We walked for about twenty minutes before finally coming to Jake's house. I rang the doorbell and it opened to reveal Tom.  
  
"Hi Sara, Lauren. The others are upstairs." He said, and gestured towards the staircase.  
  
"Thanks Tom," I replied. "How's life as an ex-Sharing member?"  
  
"Never better." Tom said with a smile. "I can't thank you enough for getting that Yeerk out of my head."  
  
We walked up the stairs and over to Jake's room. The others were there so we were the last to arrive. Tobias and Ax were in human morph with Ax scarfing down some pretzels as fast as he could. I held back a snicker of the sight of Ax his mouth full of pretzels. Ax is a great fighter, but he would never make it as a human.  
  
"Hi everyone." Lauren said. "Did we miss anything?"  
  
"Not much. We were just waiting for you." Jake said.  
  
"Well okay, now that everyone's here, let's morph." Marco said. "If this will finally get rid of the Yeerks, I want to hurry up. Besides, Baywatch will be on at five and I don't want to miss it."  
  
We all started to morph into our various birds of prey, Tobias reversing his morph to become a red-tail again. I became another red-tail, Lauren became a broad winged hawk, Rachel became a bald eagle, Jake a peregrine falcon, Marco and Cassie ospreys, and Ax into a harrier.  
  
Now where did you say this new entrance is Tobias? Cassie asked.  
  
Over at the car wash. I'll bet we can go in as flies with the next controller. Tobias explained.  
  
Sounds good to me. Rachel said. Let's go!  
  
Looks like Xena is becoming anxious. Ay-ie-ie-ie-ie-ie-ie-ie-ie!! Marco imitated Xena's battle cry. We all laughed as we flew quickly for the local car wash.  
  
Woowwwwiiiieee! Lauren shrieked as she did a loop-de-loop in the air.  
  
Fly Airlines Flight 700 is reporting turbulence, Marco said in his pilot's voice.  
  
Man, no matter how many times I use this morph, it's still so cool! Lauren cried. I admit I've only used it, what, three times or so, but still! Rachel buzzed in front of her.  
  
I know! I must have used this morph- too many times to count, and I still get this insane rush!  
  
We had just morphed into flies after flying most of the way in our bird morphs. Flies can't do distance flying, but people would sort of notice eight exotic birds flying into a gas station.  
  
Okay, Tobias said, Enough acrobatics, guys. We're getting near the gas station, and after what we've done they'll really be on the lookout. Though they don't know we know about this entrance yet.  
  
We hope, Cassie said pessimistically. Our spirits slightly dulled, we buzzed in through the open doorway of the little convenience store connected to the gas station, landed on a shelf, and looked around.  
  
Hmm, Ax murmured. Where's a good place for an entrance?  
  
That door? I suggested. It looks like a closet or something.  
  
Let's check it out! Rachel said enthusiastically, as always. Marco groaned under his breath as we flew carefully under the crack at the bottom of the door. The closet was pretty small, and there wasn't much in it except a mop, a bucket, a broken jelly jar, and some old boxes.  
  
Look! Cassie said. Those footprints! We looked. The jelly jar had been long broken, but some old crusty jelly was still on the floor, and footprints were easily viewable, even for fly eyes. We quickly flew down to look at them. The footprints went right across the room and disappeared. We hurried over to where they disappeared and found half a footprint, half under the wall.  
  
Well, there it is, Jake said. Now what?  
  
Now we wait. Ax replied. And wait we did. We had already been morphed for ten minutes. We waited patiently. Ax was just warning us that half an hour had passed when someone rattled the doorknob. We quickly buzzed up to the ceiling, where it was least likely we'd be noticed. Someone we didn't recognize walked across the closet and said, "Kandrona. Open." the door politely clicked, and the Controller pushed it open. We flew through behind him. At this entrance, instead of a ramp or stairs, there was a ladder. This was surprising, but we soon realized the ladder led to a dropshaft. As flies, we still had to fly, but we could let ourselves fall if we got tired. Soon the dropshaft ended and the Controller stepped out into the Yeerk pool, with his escort of eight houseflies.  
  
So. We're here. What exactly are we going to do? Marco asked. Just walk, uh, buzz up to one of the prisoners and say, 'Hi. I'm one of those Andalite bandits you've been hearing about, and I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me how well our last attempt worked.'?  
  
Great idea! Sara said, only half-joking. That was the plan, sort of. Marco snorted. We went over to the cages where the humans and Hork-Bajir were held, separately of course. We knew better than to try to rescue them- it just didn't work. Maybe another time. Rachel boldly buzzed up to a redheaded girl who looked especially miserable and was about to speak when Ax stopped her.  
  
No! When the Yeerks get back in their heads, they might be able to tell if a human or Andalite spoke to them- I'll do it. Rachel pulled back, landing on a wire of the cage. The redhead didn't even notice the buzzing above her.  
  
Ah, excuse me? Ax said, unsure of how to say it. I could tell by his tone he was speaking only to her. The girl looked up without surprise. Her life had been so torn up she wasn't surprised anymore. Don't be alarmed. I am one of the Andalite bandits who have been giving the Yeerks so much, ah, trouble lately. The girl blinked, registering surprise this time. She had the presence of mind not to shout.  
  
"Take me." she whispered. "Take me away."  
  
Well, um, we can't exactly do that now, I'm afraid. Ax said uncomfortably. Could you tell us something?  
  
"What?" the girl asked disinterestedly. She wasn't going to be rescued and so wasn't excited about us. I wondered what it would be like to be like that. I hoped I would never know. A terrible scream rent the air as some poor human had a Yeerk loaded into his head. I winced. The redhead didn't flinch. Ax continued.  
  
Well, as you may recall, recently we came in and rescued a -ah- friend of ours. While we were escaping with him, we shouted out information to you- vital information on how to get the Yeerk out of your head! Do you remember? Ax was slightly frantic at the girl's blank expression. She nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah. Tried it- we all did. Did nothing- fools..." A man sitting next to her stopped cursing the Yeerks and turned toward her.  
  
"What? Who you talking to, Andy? Who is it? Going crazy, are you? We all are, now.." The girl blinked at him  
  
"Oh, just an Andalite who's stopping by, asking questions." The man looked up with fiery eyes.  
  
"Andalite!" he cried. "Where? Where? Save me!" A Taxxon's head turned at this sound. He spurted some gobbledygook at a human-Controller next to him. The human-Controller's head snapped up. He began to run toward the cage.  
  
I think it's time we hauled ourselves outta here, folks. Lauren said nervously. Another scream rent the air as we zipped off. I looked back at the hungry eyes of the human prisoners and wished there was something I could do, but I knew there was nothing. I hurried to catch up with the others as we left. But as I looked back again, I couldn't stand it. I hated to see people condemned to be slaves for a dictating species. I must have gone crazy or something, but I banked around and started to look for a place to morph.  
  
Sara, what are you doing? Marco asked, half angry, half scared.  
  
I've got to try and release them. I said. After that controller is finished biting their heads off, I'll morph and attack. You're welcome to come along of course.  
  
I was wondering if anyone was going to say that. Rachel said and banked around to join me.  
  
Oh, man, Xena and Gabrielle strike again. I heard Tobias say. Even so, I'm going with you. Tobias banked too.  
  
That human sounded eternally distressed when I said that we weren't here to rescue them. Ax pondered. I will join you.  
  
Ditto. Cassie and Jake said at the same time. Lauren also joined the fleet. That only left Marco.  
  
I know that you will persuade me to go along, so why don't we just skip that part and I'll come along too. Besides, someone's got to open the cage door. Marco finally reasoned. That is of course, if Sara isn't using her raptor morph.  
  
Actually, I have a surprise morph I acquired last night. I said.  
  
We flew into a small cavity by the cages. It was in the dark so we would not be noticed for the first few minutes. I was only praying that what I was doing would not result into the deaths of my friends. I would never forgive myself.  
  
Everyone went into the cavity to morph. I felt so relieved when I had eyelids again. Then I would not have to deal with watching everyone's eyes shrink like a popped balloon. That will sometimes make me a little green. Once the final changes took place in my fly to human change, I focused on my newly acquired triceratops morph.  
  
"So what's your new morph Sara?" Lauren whispered once she had a mouth.  
  
"You'll see." I replied mysteriously.  
  
I started to grow larger as I focused. My skin grew leathery, then finally started to crack to form scales. My insides made squishy sounds as they rearranged themselves. The morphing technology dulls the pain that would normally send one screaming in agony. My nose turned upwards and started to extend. Where my eyebrows were supposed to be two huge horns sprouted and kept growing. My mouth slowly changed direction to form a parrot-like beak. My spine extended to form a tail and I fell over because I could not support my extreme weight on two legs now. By this time I was about the size of an elephant, pretty much standing next to one because Rachel was using her elephant morph. Ax and Tobias were staying in their normal bodies. Marco took on the form of a gorilla, Lauren a leopard, Cassie a wolf, and Jake a tiger. These were some of our most dangerous morphs.  
  
Whoa, Sara, how much larger are you going to get? Tobias asked after I exceeded Rachel's size.  
  
Like triceratops size, Hawk Boy. Marco said. Did you see the size of those horns?  
  
How the heck did you manage to find a triceratops fossil? Cassie asked.  
  
It's a really long story- before I was an Animorph, Gran- well, there's no time now. Remind me to tell you later.  
  
Finally, the triceratops mind surfaced. It was peaceful, with only a dull hunger pang. Its idea of a good meal was some greens and a glass of fresh water. It was confident, and its only fear was of the flesh eating predators of its time.  
  
Man, Sara, Jake said. You nearly have the entire Jurassic period in morphs.  
  
Everyone had finished morphing by now. We were ready to shoot out of there and head for the cages, which we did, except Rachel and I had to get out of the way. Once I had moved my huge body, everyone shot out of the cavity. I felt the need for a war cry, so I made one that got everyone's attention.  
  
"HOOAAARRRRRRR!!!" It was a huge bellow, but enough to make a few Controllers jump a few feet into the air.  
  
We all charged. All of the prisoners started to cheer, and I saw the red head girl's emotionless face light up with excitement and hope. I could just barely make it out because I was still getting used to triceratops sight, which is somewhat similar to a horse's but the eyes are not as far apart.  
  
Rachel and I attacked together, somewhat back to back because Rachel needed something to protect her backside, by tail was just the thing to do it with. I glanced behind me, just in time to see her heave a Taxxon twenty feet.  
  
Marco was working his way over to the imprisonment cage. He didn't have much of a resistance, because any Controller who got into his way was heaved aside, most of the time breaking a few bones. Gorillas in the wild were actually sweet and gentle-most of the time. When you got a gorilla mad, you may as well start writing your will, because gorillas in my opinion could bench press a truck.  
  
We were all doing considerable damage as Marco worked his way to the cages. Jake and Lauren worked together to become a small tornado of feline fury. Tobias swooped in at any Taxxon's eyes that decided to try to shoot us. He had pretty good aim too. Cassie and Ax were another pair, working as extra escorts for Marco, in case there were any controllers who decided to try shooting Marco. Generally, they ended up with one less hand.  
  
I was a raging dinosaur. To the triceratop's mind, the Hork-Bajir looked similar to T-Rexes, and that was enough motive to get the dinosaur's mind upset. I gored any Hork-Bajir or Taxxon that came too close with my powerful horns.  
  
I had just finished tearing apart a Taxxon that decided to try brute strength. It failed miserably. I had glanced to my left when I saw something very strange.  
  
Limbering towards us was a huge being that looked to be carved out of rock. It kind of reminded me of the Grost from Shadowcaster, a game I like to play- except it had three legs instead of two. It was totally huge, with a ridiculously tiny head. I would have laughed if I hadn't have known what it was. I realized that this was Visser Three in morph, with a morph that I had never seen before. Rachel obviously knew though.  
  
Oh man, am I ever having flashbacks. Rachel said.  
  
What do you mean? I asked.  
  
I once was nearly killed by that morph, only by a quick save from Tobias was I to live to tell the tale. Rachel explained.  
  
I was going to ask more, but then Visser Three spoke.  
  
Ah, my little Andalite friends, I see you are attempting again to free my little servants' hosts. It won't happen I assure you. Why don't you just surrender and I will make your execution as painless and as quick as possible.  
  
I was about to say 'not on your life, Visser!', but restrained myself, because he might be able to see that I had a human voice. Ax did that for me instead.  
  
Just try and stop us, Visser Three! Ax yelled.  
  
Very well then, Visser Three said nonchalantly, as if he always did it. I shall enjoy killing you.  
  
Just then, I heard a loud cheering behind me. It was coming from the cages, where Marco had just knocked a hole through the cages. Humans streamed out and made a beeline for the door.  
  
Looks like our cue to make a discreet exit. Lauren said.  
  
I couldn't agree with you more. Rachel said worried. I guess the rock guy got to her.  
  
Oh shoot. I said, noticing how big I was.  
  
What now? Marco asked irritated.  
  
I just realized, I explained. Rachel and I are too big to fit through the door!  
  
I can't do everything! Jake yelled, trying to keep the humans together. Think of something! He began leading the prisoners toward the dropshaft, ducking the deadly Dracon beams. Unfortunately, they were being picked off right and left. Hork-Bajir captured many of the humans and dragged them back screaming to their cages. Some were injured by Dracon beams fired from the Taxxons. I would have kicked myself for making them take such a risk.  
  
Let's bash it! Rachel said. I growled in agreement. We reared back, then dashed at the door, skirting the deadly beams and the falling human prisoners.  
  
Visser Three realized what was happening, and ran after us roaring.  
  
You won't get away so easily, bandits! he roared.  
  
There were Dracon beams all around us as we ran. Somehow, we managed to get to the dropshaft with only a few grazes of a Dracon beam.  
  
Okay, here goes nothing! I said.  
  
Or everything. Rachel muttered. We smashed into the door. If the door's too small, enlarge the door! Rachel snarled. We squeezed through the enlarged opening and zoomed up the dropshaft.  
  
By the time we had finally gotten out of there, only ourselves managed to escape. Everyone else had been recaptured, and I nearly started to swear at myself for taking an unnecessary risk. We morphed out of our animals, and Ax and Tobias as human, and got out of that closet before any controllers could follow us.  
  
"Well, that was one of the most unfruitful of our missions as of yet." Marco complained once we were out on the street again. "We get no answers from the humans, and when Sara goes psycho, we get no humans free! I wish I had never gotten the morphing power."  
  
Morphing, that's when I got a crazy idea. People without the morphing power were helpless, so.. I frowned. It really was a crazy idea.  
  
"You guys, maybe the instinct thing has to do with morphing." They stared at me.  
  
"Huh?" I frowned.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure- never mind." They shrugged but dismissed my strange behavior. We left the gas station and hurried home.  
  
I got home late for dinner. I felt lucky that, unlike the other Animorphs, I didn't have parents. At least, they weren't living with me. For what wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last, I looked curiously at my adoptive parent, wondering if Gran would ever tell me who my father was. Gran didn't even look up as I came in.  
  
"Successful?" he asked, taking out another setting for the table.  
  
"Not exactly," I said wistfully. He looked up then, frowned, and waved toward the other seat.  
  
"What do you mean by 'Not exactly'?" he asked curiously. I sighed.  
  
"Mostly unsuccessful. We didn't free any humans-" Gran's eyes flashed with surprise.  
  
"You didn't say you were going to free any humans! I thought you were just going to ask them if the instinct thing worked." I looked down uncomfortably.  
  
"Well. . . I sorta felt for them, and went back. Everyone followed me." He rolled his eyes.  
  
"I see. Continue!" I smiled, glad of such an understanding person to talk to, and continued my story.  
  
"Well, as I was saying, we didn't free any humans. We almost did, but Visser Three came up, and the Controllers caught them. We did ask the humans, though. They said they tried the instinct thing and it didn't work." Gran frowned at this news.  
  
"It sure doesn't sound too successful to me. What happened to make it only 'mostly' unsuccessful, as you said?"  
  
"Well, you see, as the instinct thing worked on Jake and not on the humans, we decided it must mean only people with morphing capabilities can morph," He raised his eyebrows.  
  
"You decided? Just like that? Look, Saramistrum, only Jake tried it! You can't base something on just one try- maybe it was a fluke!" I frowned.  
  
"But I could feel it! The Yeerk was afraid of the instinct area of the brain!" Gran thought about this, then came to a conclusion.  
  
"Very well. You can try it on me."  
  
"On YOU?" I asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes, on me. I have residual effects of morphing in me- maybe that means something. C'mon, it can't hurt," I nodded slowly and began focusing on the Yeerk DNA. I found it and began to shrink. My eyesight disappeared suddenly, leaving me blind. All my organs smushed together as my bones dissolved. Yeerks don't have bones- they're practically just slugs. Most of my organs dissolved completely away- the few that stayed changed radically. I could actually feel them changing, and it made me nervous. My arms, legs and head shrank into my body and my skin changed into a gray membrane with veins bulging through it. I was now about the size of a basketball, and looked almost completely Yeerk. I quickly finished shrinking, and braced myself for the Yeerk's mind. I had beat it down before, and it was therefore easier to do it a second time.  
  
Okay, I said. I'm ready.  
  
Are you sure you want to do this? I asked him. Even though it was me, I still had my doubts.  
  
"Yes. I want to do everything in my power to help you, morph capable or not." Replied my uncle and he bent over for me to crawl in. I went in through his ear trying my best not go gross myself out. He made no effort to resist me.  
  
Doin okay? I asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine." He replied.  
  
Eventually, I reached his brain and started to melt. I filled into the little cracks and crevices of his brain. Finally, I had control over my uncle. I know he isn't my uncle, but I'm just so used to calling him that that it just stuck.  
  
Now if I remember correctly, I said, use the instinct part of your brain to force me out. Since you have less morph capabilities from the rest of us, you might or might not be able to.  
  
"That may not happen, Sara," Uncle Gran pessimistically. "I've been a nothlit for more than ten years, so my morphing capability has mostly deteriorated."  
  
We still need to find out. I replied. Just try.  
  
I could feel Uncle Gran struggle to access the instinct part of his brain. Unfortunately, I held a firm grip on his brain. There was no way he could get me out.  
  
Come on, Gran! I said. Think of your Andalite days. I saw visions swelling up in his mind, of morphing strange creatures I didn't recognize. Suddenly the instinct part of his brain seemed to swell and, well, push. I shot out his ear and hit the wall.  
  
Ow. I said.  
  
"It works!" Gran exclaimed. "That means we have a way to kill Visser Three!"  
  
Exactly! Now the only problem we have is finding where Prince Alloran is kept while Visser Three recharges as it were. I replied and started to morph out of my Yeerk. Just the thought of being a Yeerk made me sick to my stomach, if Yeerks even have stomachs.  
  
"We need to tell the others." Uncle Gran said. "Why don't you go tell Lauren and the others."  
  
I tried to say "Are you kidding?" but it came out "Mar mu muffing?" since my mouth had not totally formed yet.  
  
Once I had a total mouth, I said, "I'll fly over and tell everyone."  
  
"Okay, but be back by six, I'm making linguine and my special sauce." My uncle said, in a parentlike way. Andalites as humans have this obsession with food. Gran had pretty much gotten over that, but he still learned to cook really well.  
  
I ran upstairs to my room to morph, because I have blinds up there. Up there, I started to focus on my red-tail hawk morph. I use a barn owl at night and a red-tail hawk for day. A pretty feather pattern appeared on my skin before they became feathers. My insides started to squish as my organs rearranged themselves. My bones hollowed out and became more frail. Eventually, I was a red-tailed hawk. I flew out of my window and headed for Rachel's house. Hers was the fastest to get to in flying time.  
  
After a top speed flight, I landed on the birdhouse Rachel puts outside her door for one of us who comes to her house as a bird. I alighted onto the birdhouse and peeked in. I was in luck. She was puttering around on her computer with her back to me.  
  
Rachel? I asked.  
  
I think she nearly jumped out of the chair. Once she turned around and noticed it was me, she opened the window and let me in.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.  
  
I discovered that the morphing thing and the instinct thing are related. We have a way to kill Visser Three! I yelled.  
  
"You're not serious? That actually works?" Rachel asked.  
  
Yes! I tried it out on Uncle Gran, and he could do it, but only after he visualized morphing! I exclaimed.  
  
"Wow! We've got to tell the others!" Rachel whispered with energy.  
  
Doing that right now. I said. Go back to my house, and then we'll all meet there and formulate a plan.  
  
We flew over to where each of the Animorphs were, then called Tobias and Ax from the forest. We met in my house and sat on the couch. There wasn't room for us all, so I sat on the floor, facing my friends gravely.  
  
"Okay, Sara, quit the secret stuff. What've you done now?" I looked at Marco resentfully.  
  
"What, Marco, don't you trust me?" He glared.  
  
"I know it's got something to do with that theory you had, back by the pool, something about morphing and the instinct power we found- you were mumbling, though- you said you weren't sure. Now, TELL US!!" I smiled.  
  
"Okay, okay. See, I've got this theory- you heard it. The human prisoners all tried to get the Yeerks out of their heads with the instincts, and it didn't work. But it worked with Jake, and it worked with Gran when I tried it."  
  
Gran? You tried it with him? And it worked- hmm. Tobias, who was taking the small risk of staying a hawk inside the house, disappeared into his thoughts.  
  
"I think I see what you're saying," Cassie said. "It seems the instinct trick only works with those who either have the morphing power, or had it at some time."  
  
"Yes, and that means-" I started excitedly.  
  
"Wait a second!" Marco cried. "Hold yer horses! You're saying you've tried the instinct trick twice, and you're instantly deciding all these theories? Well, let's see, the Earth's got life on it, so all other planets must have life on them too."  
  
"Ridiculous! us, us." Ax said condescendingly. He was in human morph because, while we could hide Tobias if someone came in, it would be hard to hide an Andalite. Marco nodded.  
  
"Exactly! Ridiculous! C'mon, Sar, you can't base something like that on two tries." I nodded slowly, thinking. I grinned suddenly as an idea popped into my mind.  
  
"All right, Marco. Since you're so skeptical, we'll try the instinct trick again. To check." Marco nodded appreciatively, but he looked a little apprehensive.  
  
"Good. Um, who will you try it on?" I grinned.  
  
"You!" Marco groaned and slapped his forehead.  
  
"I should have seen that coming! Well, I guess I deserve it. Go ahead." He sat stock still, closing his eyes and scrunching up his face as if he was expected a bucket of ice water instead of a Yeerk. I pulled of my shirt and jeans, exposing my colorful morphing suit. I focused on the form of the Yeerk, going through the convulsions of morphing. This time I turned into a blob before I shrank, and I heard the others groaning. I knew it wasn't a pretty sight, and I was glad I didn't have to watch myself. Not that I could, of course, being blind. I soon finished shrinking and fought back the now-familiar Yeerk consciousness, which I couldn't exactly call a brain.  
  
Phew. Okay. Somebody pick me up. I felt a hand touch me, draw back, then slowly pick me up. I felt the hand clumsily place me by Marco's ear, which I could feel trembling.  
  
Don't worry, Marco. Remember- instincts. I slipped through the ear canal, then into his brain, flowing out and filling all the wrinkles. I let the Yeerk's mind take over slightly, as I took control of Marco's brain. I felt memories flood in. I was just looking at a memory of Marco struggling with his algebra homework when suddenly I flew out of his brain, shooting backwards out the ear canal and barely missing Rachel's head.  
  
"AAAAH!" Marco shouted, getting back control of his senses. I quickly morphed back into human form, holding my head. Gran, surprised, stuck his head in the doorway. He saw me finishing my morph, nodded, and stuck his head back in the kitchen. I grinned. Gran must be the only parent in our world who would just nod when he saw his adopted daughter turning from a slug to a human while her friends are watching calmly.  
  
"Ow. Man, Marco, you have some pretty powerful instincts."  
  
"That's what comes from being so close to an animal," Rachel said, pushing Marco with a grin. For once, Marco ignored her.  
  
"All right, all right, I believe you guys. Phew. Remind me always to agree with you, Sara." I grinned.  
  
"I just might do that. Okay, now that we're all in agreement, I'll tell you about my plan." Rachel was glowing with excitement. Lauren looked at her.  
  
"Something tells me you've already told Rachel. Well, go on, come on!"  
  
"Well, the instinct thing only works with morph-capable people, or people who were once morph-capable, right?"  
  
"Riiight." Cassie said.  
  
"So the only people who are morph-capable are us, and the Andalites, right?"  
  
"Rig- AAH!" Tobias suddenly saw what I was talking about. "Visser Three! Prince Alloran! We can free him!" Everyone's eyes lit up.  
  
"Wow! Now, all we've got to do is get near-enough to him to tell him that, without getting killed." We sat in silence, trying to think of a plan to free the poor Andalite stuck somewhere inside the consciousness of Visser Three.  
  
I think we must have sat still for about half an hour, with an interval for Ax to morph out and rest because he was about to hit two hours. At one point, Gran came in to make sure we were living because we were so quiet.  
  
"Well, this is getting us nowhere." Lauren finally stated and broke the silence. "Maybe we should all leave to think better."  
  
"That sounds good to me." Cassie agreed. "I need to go work on a paper for English class."  
  
"Ditto." Marco agreed.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go to gymnastics class." Rachel said. Rachel takes gymnastics as a hobby and is in my opinion, really good. She doesn't think so though.  
  
"I need to get home anyway because Mom is expecting me home soon. She thinks I went to see Titanic." Lauren stated.  
  
"And I promised Tom that we would see that basketball game together." Jake excused.  
  
"Well see ya guys." I said and escorted them to the door. We all said good bye and the only ones who were left were Ax and Tobias.  
  
"You want to stay for dinner?" I asked. "Gran is making spaghetti."  
  
"Spaghetti? ee?" Ax asked.  
  
Its a type of food that is made of strands. It generally has red sauce on it. Tobias explained.  
  
"Ah, well, I would love to stay and try this spaghetti. EEEEEEEE." Ax said.  
  
I'll stay too. Tobias agreed. Its been a long time since I've had spaghetti.  
  
Tobias hopped off of my shoulder and began to morph to his human form. With the help of an Ellimist, he traveled back in time and acquired himself. He started to grow upwards while his feet started to shrink in a way. His feathers melted together like hot wax and melded into his skin, revealing human flesh. His wings started to extend into arms while his fierce hawk eyes changed into eyes that looked so distant. Finally, his hair came. It is blonde and a total mess.  
  
I noticed, not for the first time and not for the last, how similar Tobias and I looked. We both had wild hair, except I can tame mine with a braid. We were about the same height, and even the same way of walking.  
  
"Are Tobias and Ax staying for dinner?" Uncle Gran asked when he poked his head in.  
  
"Yes s-uh." Ax replied.  
  
"Oh, okay good, because I made extra." Uncle Gran said. "It'll be ready in a few minutes."  
  
We concentrated for a few minutes on how in the universe were we going to get close enough to War-Prince Alloran to tell him. I was the first to speak, but it was mostly after some pacing and definite excitement.  
  
"Oh, man, I just had the craziest idea."  
  
"Uh-oh, not good." Tobias replied with a smile.  
  
"What about if we find out where Alloran is while Visser Three regenerates?" I asked. "We could morph something small and get close enough to warn him? Its worse enough to try to get close when Visser Three is in him."  
  
"Like I said, not good, but worth a try. Why don't we meet up at Cassie's barn on Saturday to tell them?" Tobias asked.  
  
"That sounds all right ite ite." Ax said, doing the usual sound playing he does.  
  
"C'mon you three. Dinner's ready." Gran called from the kitchen.  
  
"Spaghetti and sauce aws aws." Ax said. I braced myself for a feeding frenzy from Ax, because he was obviously exited to try spaghetti.  
  
We all sat down at the table, and I watched Tobias and Ax's reaction to spaghetti. Gran really does have a talent for sauces.  
  
Ax picked up his fork, and tried to scoop up some spaghetti. It just fell through. Apparently, Ax wasn't Italian.  
  
"How do you make the spaghetti stick to the fork?" Ax asked in distress. This time he didn't play with his sounds.  
  
"Here Ax, look at how I do it." Tobias said, and twirled some pasta onto his fork. Ax looked confused.  
  
"That is a strange technique, but I will try it." Ax said and awkwardly grasped the fork. After a few faulty tries, he finally got some onto his fork without it falling back onto his plate. He put it into his mouth and chewed. Ax's eyes lit up.  
  
"This is wonderful! Ful."  
  
"Yeah, it is good, Gran." Tobias agreed.  
  
"Thanks." My uncle said. I think he even blushed a bit.  
  
We all ate silently, with Ax getting sauce all over his face. Finally I broke the silence.  
  
"Uncle Gran, we may have discovered a way to warn Alloran." I stated.  
  
I think that my Uncle nearly dropped his fork. "What? Getting to a high ranking Visser's host is one of the hardest things to do. He will be guarded like he was a nuclear bomb with guards armed to the teeth. Are you sure you know what you are doing?"  
  
"Yes. We have to at least try. Ax, wipe your face." I said to Ax, who looked like a tomato. He did, after help from Tobias. Ax's plate was pretty well licked clean. Luckily, he couldn't go on a feeding frenzy because the rest of us were finished too.  
  
"Well, we better go Sara, we need time to get back to the woods." Tobias commented.  
  
"Okay, see you guys on Sunday." I said, and walked them to the door. "Then we might see where Alloran is kept."  
  
"Bye." Ax said, and stumbled down the stairs. Luckily, he was unhurt. I saw why Tobias didn't morph, because poor Ax would stumble the whole way back to the woods, looking like a drunkard. I went to go help my uncle clean up the table.  
  
The next day was uneventful, except that I sort of committed non- mallaholic sacrilege by shopping for a birthday present for Cassie, who was having a slumber party that night, with Rachel, Lauren, and myself. I finally settled on a copy of Watership Down, my favorite book. It seemed appropriate, since it was mostly about rabbits. Cassie liked all animals, so I hoped she would like the book. But unlike the normal day, that night was almost as weird as the day at the mall with the mirror.  
  
"Hi Sara, come on in." Cassie said when I knocked on her door that night. I was decked out with the usual sleep over stuff, sleeping bag, change of clothes, etc. I was the last there, which seems to be normal for me.  
  
"Hi Cassie, Happy Birthday!" I said cheerily. We walked to the living room, were Rachel and Lauren were talking about what they had gotten for Cassie's birthday. Once we came in, they both went silent, not wanting to spoil the surprise.  
  
"Hi Sara!" Both Rachel and Lauren said at the same time.  
  
"Hi guys." I replied.  
  
This was the first time I had been in Cassie's living room. It was very cozy, with a TV, couch, and a piano in the corner. I don't know what it was, but I felt drawn to that old piano.  
  
"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" Lauren asked Cassie.  
  
"Well, I rented a few movies, we can have popcorn, and maybe a few pillow fights." Cassie said with a smile, then turned to Rachel. "At least that's what Rachel says we should do." I realized that is was Rachel's idea to have a slumber party for Cassie's birthday.  
  
"That's a pretty piano Cassie." I said to Cassie.  
  
"Thanks, it was my grandmothers." Cassie said. When she noticed how much I was staring at it, she asked "Would you like to play it?"  
  
"Sure." I said, and sat at the piano.  
  
At first nothing happened. I just plucked a few notes on the piano, then something happened. A song, from I don't know where, started playing in my head. I think I went into a trance or something, but I laid my hands on the keys, and the song came out of my head onto the keys, and I started to play. It sounded so familiar, yet so distant. From what I was hearing, it was beautiful. After I was finished, I sort of came out of the trance. I turned around to face my friends. They were all staring at me.  
  
"I didn't know that you could play the piano." Lauren said with amazement.  
  
"I do...but not like THAT." I said.  
  
Lauren was looking at me like a Yeerk had suddenly fallen out of my ear, shriveled, and died. Suddenly her face cleared slightly.  
  
"Oh, I know. It's another one of those- I don't know- visions you've been having. Only this one's with sound."  
  
"That is so weird!" Cassie burst out, then glanced around to make sure her family wasn't nearby. "What do you think's happening?"  
  
"An Ellimist?" Rachel blurted. Lauren looked up confusedly, then nodded.  
  
"Oh yeah. One of those Q-like guys. Maybe- but I don't know what they're like. Would they do something like that?"  
  
"If they had a reason to," I said thoughtfully. "Maybe..." I broke off as Cassie's mother came into the room.  
  
"Hey Rachel, Lauren, Sara. I was heading back from the barn when I heard this great music! It sounded like the piano. Was that one of you girls?" Everyone glanced sideways at me. I gulped.  
  
"Oh, yes, um, that was me, ma'am. I-I've been taking piano lessons." Cassie's mom looked at me strangely.  
  
"You must've taken a lot- that sounded great! Beautiful... Why don't you play some more?" Lauren looked at me nervously, with a little shrug. My mind raced.  
  
"Well, actually, I don't feel like it right now. Hey, is that popcorn I smell?" Luckily, it was. We hurried off to have a snack while Cassie opened her presents. She opened Lauren's first. It was a tape, called Earth Celebration. Lauren looked down nervously. She's still a new Animorph, and doesn't know any of us too well, except for me.  
  
"I didn't know what you'd like, but you like saving the whales kinds of things, so.." Cassie grinned at her.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Lauren! This is, actually, one of my favorite singers! She popped the tape into a tape player and let the music play while she opened my present.  
  
"Watership Down? I seem to remember you mentioning this before. Something about seagulls, when Tom was hurt." I nodded.  
  
"That's right. It's one of my favorite books! I hope you like it." Cassie grinned at me.  
  
"I bet I will. Thanks!" She moved on to Rachel's present. There was a little present on top of the larger one. Cassie took off the little present and was about to open it when Rachel interrupted.  
  
"That one's not from me. It's from Jake." Cassie blushed instantly, and looked pleadingly at Rachel. Rachel laughed.  
  
"No, I don't know what it is. Come on, it can't be too bad!" Cassie sighed and opened the box. Her eyes lit up, and she lifted out of it a chain with a crystal dolphin dangling from it. I hissed with jealously. I absolutely love dolphins!  
  
"Oh, man, Cassie, that's great!" Cassie nodded at me, then lifted her eyes up to Rachel, smiling.  
  
"You must have helped him shop for it. I seem to remember Jake isn't a mall rat like you..." Rachel grinned and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, no kidding. He once bought his mom a comic book! But believe it or not, I didn't help him this time. He did it himself!"  
  
"Amazing," Lauren said. "But can't you open Rachel's present so we can have cake? I'm hungry." She had already finished the bowl of popcorn. I giggled.  
  
"You seem to be becoming another Ax, Lauren. You've inherited his appetite!" She looked up at me strangely, but said nothing. Cassie opened Rachel's present, which was a shirt Cassie protested about because it said 'hand-wash only'. We put Contact in the VCR and started to watch it. Rachel tried to start a pillow fight and failed. I tried to watch the movie, but even though it was interesting and everything, I felt strangely tired. And though it was against all sleepover laws to fall asleep before midnight at least, I found my eyelids drooping. I fell asleep, hearing the music of Lauren's tape still playing in the background. It was some song about rain falling... falling.... falling...  
  
I landed on nothing suddenly. I dimly knew I was dreaming, though it seemed so real. I thought I heard a sound, like a horse's hooves, and looked up into the face of a fully-grown Andalite.  
  
Wha- where am I? I asked the Andalite. He seemed so familiar in a way. I was wondering why I could not speak, then I noticed, I had no mouth! My hands had too many fingers, I could see all around me. I was an Andalite! I realized suddenly that I was the andalite in the mirror.  
  
Wisteria-Delphini-Saramistrum, the Andalite said to me. you must listen to me. I cannot talk long now because your dream will be terminated in a few minutes, but I must talk to you. The Andalite you are now is yourself, only a pure Andalite. You were first introduced to this side of yourself the other day, if you remember correctly. What you have is a remarkable gift. You are the hybrid between Andalite and human, which allows your abilities.  
  
What about the strange visions I've been having? I asked. Did you send those?  
  
Yes, through the ability of an Ellimist. You will be having dreams from me every now and then until I can get all of my information to you. The body you are in now is a morph of yours now. Please, do not tell anyone, except Aximili. He can help you. It will be easier that way. I must go now, for my time is short. I will return.  
  
Wait! What about-- I had so many questions I had to ask, but he was shimmering out. Then there was darkness for a moment before I snapped awake.  
  
Lauren was shaking me awake. I felt like I had never fallen asleep.  
  
"What happened?" Cassie asked with concern. "You just fell asleep right where you were. Almost what I did a while back."  
  
"What?" Lauren and I asked at the same time.  
  
"Never mind." Rachel said. "Are you okay? You must have been out like a light for about ten seconds."  
  
"But, I was in the dream for at least fifteen minutes." I defended.  
  
"What?" They all asked. I was about to explain, but then I remembered the Andalite's warning.  
  
"Nothing, I guess I have that REM sleep problem some Dobermans have." I said as an excuse.  
  
"I won't even ask." Rachel said.  
  
The rest of the night was like a normal sleepover. Rachel finally succeeded in starting a pillow fight, we stayed up until 2:45 in the morning, and we watched another movie. I was the last to fall asleep, mostly because I was afraid of the Andalite in a way. I myself had never met an Ellimist, and if they were anything like Q, I didn't want to. The last thing I needed was an all-powerful being saying how inferior I was. I finally fell asleep as the sun began to rise. The Andalite didn't appear again that night.  
  
The next day, after the sleep over, I morphed my red-tail and flew over to the woods where Ax and Tobias lived. The andalite said that Ax might help me, so I decided to take the chance. My sharp hawk eyes saw Ax running through the woods beneath. I called down.  
  
Ax? I said. The andalite stopped running and looked up at me.  
  
Hello Sara, Ax said What are you doing here though?  
  
I need to talk to you. Is Tobias around? I asked.  
  
No, he his out hunting and should not be back for a while. Ax replied.  
  
Thanks, this is really getting weird. I said.  
  
I came down and morphed out. Ax stared at me strangely.  
  
So what is the problem? He asked.  
  
I relayed all that had happened the night before, the music, the dream, everything. He had not been at the mall during the mirror and the fight so I told that to him too. He listened quietly, concerned.  
  
This is not a human phenomenon? Ax asked.  
  
"No, its getting really weird." I said. "The strange thing is that the Andalite said that my andalite half is sort of a morph now."  
  
That can only be the work of an Ellimist. Have you tried out this new morph of yours? Ax asked.  
  
"No, I've been too scared." I said. "Should I try to now?"  
  
Yes, you should. We need to find out if you are sick or if this is real. Ax said.  
  
I stood up from the log I was sitting on and focused on the Andalite in the mirror. I expected nothing to happen, mostly because I was pessimistic about the whole thing. I was about to tell Ax that nothing is happening, but then my whole body started to tingle. I stopped the morph and discovered that I was growing blue and purple fur.  
  
"AAAAHHH!" I screamed.  
  
Don't stop the morph. You've started it, so you may as well finish it. Ax reassured.  
  
I concentrated again, and the tingle came back. My ears sort of slid up my head a short ways and became elf-like. My head felt odd as stalk eyes sprouted from my head. Suddenly, I could see all around me. My spine arched to form a sort of back end, like a horse. My hands sprouted extra digits while a large tail and blade came from my horse-like back-end. Finally, my mouth and nose disappeared, leaving only a few slits to breathe through. I was a full Andalite now.  
  
Whoa. Ax said, focusing all his eyes on me.  
  
Strange isn't it? Now what you see what I mean. I said.  
  
Well, yes, but not only that, Ax said. But in Andalite terms, you are very attractive.  
  
I blushed, if Andalites even can blush. Uh, thanks. I said, feeling very embarrassed. But getting back to the moment at hand, I don't want you to tell anyone, please. Not until I can get some answers.  
  
Um, okay. Ax said, confused.  
  
Promise me. I said. Not even to Tobias.  
  
I promise. Ax said.  
  
Thanks, I knew I could count on you. I said. I better be getting back home now. I'll let you know if anything more happens.  
  
Okay. Ax said. I morphed out, then into my red-tail, and I flew home, feeling better that I had told someone.  
  
It was 4th period art class, and I was thinking about the dream I'd had, and wondering if I'd have any dreams tonight. I had been dreamless Sunday night, but I'd been pretty sleepless too. I was so tired now I was sure I'd be able to sleep tonight. I boredly doodled in my sketchbook, hardly noticing what I was drawing until Mrs. Kranner, the art teacher, commented on it.  
  
"I say, Sara, that's quite an odd picture you're drawing there." I blinked sleep out of my eyes, glanced at the picture to see what was so odd about it, and got a cold shock. I had been drawing myself as an Andalite! I whirled around and stared at Mrs. Kranner, hiding the picture with my elbow. I had the ability to see if a person was a Controller or not, and it could come in very useful- especially when you were worried a Controller had seen your doodles of an Andalite. I concentrated, boring my eyes into her brain. No- there was no telltale pink glow of the Yeerk. Don't ask me why the glow is pink- Yeerks are an ugly slimy gray. I blinked the tears out of my eyes and tried to think of a response.  
  
"Oh, it's just... doodles, Mrs. Kranner. I was just playing around with the idea of centaurs... you know, half-human, half-horse? " The teacher looked at me with a bit of suspicion.  
  
"Strange- centaurs, all right, but blue? And with, um, antennae eyes? You have quite an imagination, Sara!" I gulped, glancing around the room worriedly. But no one was looking at us, except Marco who was in my class. He was giving me an awful chipmunk face. I gave him one back and silently begged Mrs. Kranner to go away. Luckily, the bell rang just then, and we all dashed out of the room outside, to freedom. Marco caught up with me in the hall.  
  
"Don't do that, Spock. We might get a substitute who's a-" he lowered his voice. "Controller. I take it she wasn't?" I nodded. "Well, still, control your bursts of imagination, okay? Nearly gave me a heart attack there- I was sure old Crayon was going to hiss, 'Andalite!' and, well, I don't know, send you to Chapman or something." I rolled my eyes at him.  
  
"You shouldn't be talking about imagination, Marco. See you!" I left the horrible drudgery of school behind, and went home. When I got there I morphed the red-tailed hawk and went to find Ax. I wanted to see if he could give me any more answers.  
  
Ax? I called out as I morphed out of my hawk. I didn't have long to wait until Ax jumped to where I was wrapping up my morph.  
  
Hello, Sara. Ax said politely. Tobias isn't around, if that will be your next question.  
  
"I think you're psychic, Ax." I commented. "Have you figured anything out yet?"  
  
Unfortunately, until you have another dream, I cannot speculate. Ax said.  
  
"I hope you have been keeping my secret." I said. I wanted to be sure that no one except Ax figured out my dilemma until I was good and ready.  
  
Well, Tobias was slightly suspicious about why you were here yesterday, but I did not tell anyone. Ax commented. I breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Oh yes," I said, remembering the drawing I had made that afternoon. "I'm not sure if this counts as a vision, but I started absent mindedly doodling an Andalite in art class."  
  
What is "doodling?" Ax asked with confusion. I sighed, and explained what doodling was.  
  
Ah, Ax said. Well, I think that that was just preoccupation, not a vision.  
  
I was listening to Ax, but I started to feel really sleepy. My heartbeat raced with anxiety at the thought of getting another vision.  
  
"Ax," I said, struggling to stay awake. "Something's happ--" I didn't get to finish my sentence because I fell into a deep sleep. Ax managed to catch me before I hit the ground.  
  
At first, it seemed like nothing had happened, because I was still in the forest. Then I realized that I was an Andalite again.  
  
Hello? I called out. The Andalite wasn't there. In fact, no one was in my dream with me. I started running through the forest for no reason. Something was drawing me forward.  
  
I raced over logs and ferns, dodging any trees. I didn't want to look like a total klutz, even if it was in a dream. It felt like a normal run for me, because I have abnormal speed, mostly from my Andalite/human heritage.  
  
Suddenly, I couldn't run any further, for any reason whatsoever. It was like my hooves had just taken root in the soil. I looked around for that Andalite, but he didn't appear. Instead, a hawk came screaming towards me. It had a pretty red tail, but at that time, I thought it didn't mean much.  
  
Just before the hawk was going to run into me head on, it disappeared. Everything, the woods, the logs, the sky, all gone. A voice filled my head, but it wasn't thought-speak, nor normal speak. It just popped into my head.  
  
BONDS OCCUR IN THE STRANGEST PLACES, AND THEY ARE ALWAYS REMAIN FOR ETERNITY. The weird voice said. I didn't know what that meant, and didn't have time to ask, because I awoke.  
  
Ax was staring down at me, with a worried look on his mouthless face. I was on the ground, staring at the sky. I sat up, and put a hand to my head.  
  
Are you all right? Ax asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, with a little more info." I said. I told him all about my dream, the hawk, the voice, everything. He listened intently.  
  
There is no doubt in my mind now that there is an Ellimist behind this. Ax said. It's just a matter now of finding out why.  
  
Why what? a voice said from above. Tobias landed in a branch just above us.  
  
I was startled, mostly because Tobias looked exactly like the hawk in my dream. "AAAAHHH!" I screamed.  
  
Well, when where you unhappy to see me? Tobias asked in a fake hurt voice.  
  
"Sorry," I said, and started to morph into my hawk. "You just startled me." It was a lame excuse, I admit. I finished my morph, said good bye to them, and left.  
  
After I left, Tobias turned to Ax.  
  
What's going on Ax? Tobias asked with concern.  
  
Nothing, she just came over here to talk for a while. Ax said.  
  
Well, it must have been a talk to startle her like that. Tobias said suspiciously. Really, what's going on? If its something dangerous, I want to know about it.  
  
I promised her I would not tell anyone, and unfortunately, that applies to you too Tobias. Ax said, as his defenses began to buckle.  
  
Please, Ax, Tobias pleaded. Tell me what's going on.  
  
Sorry, Ax said nervously. I can't. I need to eat now, good bye. He galloped off, leaving Tobias very confused.  
  
I flew around for a long time, trying to think of what was going on. What had the Ellimist meant by bonds happening in weird places? What kind of bonds? I thought about all the kinds of bonds I knew about. We had learned about a lot of bonds in science. There were ionic bonds, and covalent bonds... but somehow, I doubted the Ellimist was talking about electrons. What other kinds of bonds were there? Those money bonds... nah. Were there any other bonds? I couldn't think of any. Troubled, I decided to fly home to ask Gran for some insight. I was halfway there when I heard someone calling me.  
  
Sara! Sara! I banked left and turned to meet the approaching hawk.  
  
Hi, Tobias. How did you know it was me? He snorted, in thought-speak of course.  
  
It's hard to miss one of the only two red-tailed hawks around, especially if she's ignoring an especially plump, juicy and slow mouse that's sort of obviously below. The hawk part of me had definitely noticed the mouse, but I had been too preoccupied to notice.  
  
Well, I was sort of preoccupied, Tobias.  
  
Yeah. he muttered. But you won't tell me why.  
  
What do you mean? I asked defensively.  
  
Nothing. he said with a sigh. Anyway, why I was yelling is because we've set up a meeting to decide what to do about Visser Three/Prince Alloran. It's at Marco's apartment- his dad's out and going to be out for a while.  
  
Okay. Race you! I said, trying to get my problems out of his mind. It worked. We zipped through the turbulent air, riding the wind.  
  
As usual, we were the last ones there. I think I'm jinxed to be eternally late to Animorphs meetings. We knew where Marco's house was, so didn't waste a lot of time trying to find it. I had only been there once before.  
  
"Well, Spock and Bird Boy finally show up, fashionably late as usual." Marco commented with a smirk.  
  
Oh hush. I said as I morphed out. Tobias stayed in his hawk form. I noticed Rachel looking at us strangely, but ignored it.  
  
"Well, now that everyone's here," Jake said taking command. "This meeting will now come to order."  
  
"Oh Jake that is sooooooo official." Marco commented. Jake just glared at him, then said, "We need a plan to get to Prince Alloran to warn him and tell our instinct secret. Unfortunately, from information from Gran, that will be near to impossible because there will be top security, and they'll probably fry any form of animal that tries to come through, even a bug."  
  
"Ooohhh, nasty. Fly barbecue." Marco punctuated.  
  
We sat for a few minutes, listening to Marco and Jake argue, when an idea suddenly came up and whopped me on the head.  
  
"You guys," I said. "I have an idea." Everyone groaned.  
  
"Well, what is it this time, Sara?" Lauren asked.  
  
"What about if we made a distraction, and someone went to where Alloran is captive, and told him? We would need to get someone to acquire a morph of a high ranking Controller.  
  
"Oh sure, we just walk right up to a controller, and say, hi, I'm going to acquire you so we can get to Prince Alloran and warn him." Marco said. "Yeah right!"  
  
"Well, who will we acquire?" Rachel asked. I can always count on Rachel to back me up.  
  
"We'll morph Chapman." I said. Rachel stared. "How the heck are we going to do that? We act up, get sent to the principal's office, then grab Chapman in a hug, say, "I love you, man!" and hope he goes limp fast?"  
  
Marco glared at her. "Hey! I'm the one who's supposed to say that!" I ignored them both.  
  
"I don't know. I can't think of everything! Hasn't anyone else got an idea?" Cassie frowned in thought.  
  
"Well, we can't go to his house- there's no way we could acquire him there without him realizing it. So it has to be school. How can we do that?" We all thought. Suddenly Lauren grinned.  
  
"I think Rachel's idea was close. We go up to him, touch his shoulder, say 'let me get this lint off your shirt' or something, I don't know, and then he'll go limp. We can scream and say, "Mr. Chapman! He's fainted! Oh, somebody, help, please!"  
  
Jake groaned. "You sound like one of those Red Cross First Aid videos- Are you okay? Are you okay? Help." Lauren glared at him. I held back a giggle. "I mean, it's a good idea! That is, if we had a couple of lives to spare." Lauren rolled her eyes.  
  
"Got a better idea? ANYONE got a better idea?" Silence. "I thought so." Lauren said smugly. "Well, I guess we do it, then. Who's going to do the honors?" Everyone looked at her.  
  
"Why did I ever think up this idea?" Lauren moaned. "Why couldn't I let you think up something crazy, like you usually do?" I shrugged.  
  
"Oh, come on, Lauren, you can do it! Anyway, I thought up the idea of acquiring Chapman in the first place." She sighed and nodded.  
  
"Okay, but I already regret it. Here goes nothing!" We stepped off the bus and walked into the school, looking nervously around for our assistant principal.  
  
"Hey, it's Princess Leia! Princess, by what event do you grace our humble presence?" I turned to see Marco coming up, grinning at Lauren. I looked at Lauren. Her hood had fallen down, and I could see that her long dark hair, which was usually in one tight pony-tail at the back of her head, was coiled into two cinnamon buns at each side of her head- the trademarked Princess Leia look. Lauren blushed and yanked her hood over her head again.  
  
"Marco, I really don't need this." she hissed. "Today, of all days!" She stormed off toward the gym, still on the lookout for Chapman. I widened my eyes at Marco as I passed. He growled.  
  
"Hey, is there anything WRONG with being Princess Leia? C'mon! She's this extremely cool ambassador with these awesome Force abilities, and- oh, what's the use." I giggled and ran to catch up with the steaming Lauren. I hurried up behind her, then nearly fell over her as she stopped abruptly. Lauren pointed. Chapman was walking down the hall toward the gym. I grabbed Lauren's arm. She bit her lip, then started forward. We caught up with Chapman. Lauren took a breath and hurried forward. She grabbed Chapman's elbow and pulled him to a stop.  
  
"Um, Mr. Chapman, could you stop a minute? I have this awful problem." I could see she was concentrating. Chapman frowned.  
  
"I really don't have time for this now. Could you-" Suddenly his eyes dulled over and he slumped to the floor. I carefully caught him so he wouldn't get hurt, then bent down and laid my hand on his shoulder.  
  
"What are you doing, Sara?" Lauren asked, confused.  
  
"I'm acquiring him. This could be a useful morph." Lauren snorted.  
  
"So I get to do the dangerous part, and you get the morph too?"  
  
"C'mon, Lauren. If he had figured out what we were doing, he would have known about me too. Well, I guess it's time to scream." Lauren grimaced.  
  
"I've never been good at screaming."  
  
"Well, you shout then."  
  
A bloodcurdling scream rent the air, along with cries for help. All the teachers heard the noise and hurried to see what was the matter. Jake and Rachel were just arriving.  
  
"C'mon- they might need help." Jake said, and they hurried off in the direction of the screams.  
  
I started to fan Chapman with my binder while Lauren acted hysterically. If anyone had suspected that we were just acquiring him, then they would have been totally fooled.  
  
Our math teacher, Mrs. Conner, pushed her way through to us.  
  
"Get back everyone!" She yelled. "Give him some air!" She got to us. "What happened?"  
  
"We were asking him something, and then he just keeled over!" Lauren whimpered.  
  
"Well, get out of the way girls, and get to class. I'll take care of Mr. Chapman." Mrs. Conner said in a commanding voice. She was so much like a hen, not in a mean way of course, but she is always clucking around her students like a mother hen does to her chicks.  
  
A few more teachers came to help our math teacher, and we were pushed away. We weaved our way out of the crowd, and got to where Jake and Rachel were watching us.  
  
"Did you get the morph?" Rachel whispered.  
  
Yes, everything went a-okay. I whispered back in thought speak. The good thing about it is that you can direct thought speak to anyone, and no one can do anything about it. I wonder what Chapman will be thinking when he wakes up? I bet he'll be pretty embarrassed to have apparently fainted in the hallway in front of some students." Rachel giggled, then her face turned serious.  
  
"That is, if he has the capability to get embarrassed any more." We stood thinking about that a moment, then Jake broke the silence.  
  
"Well, c'mon." Jake said. "Let's get to class and get this day over with as little confrontation with Chapman as possible." We all agreed wholeheartedly and went to class.  
  
The rest of the day seemed to crawl, as if it were a snail trying to climb up a wall. Every word the teachers said seemed to take forever to complete. Finally, the final bell rang, releasing me from its terrible grasp. I thought I would never get out of school.  
  
"How did it go?" Marco asked once we were off of school grounds.  
  
"Well, we got the morph." I said. "Both of us."  
  
"What?" Cassie asked. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Chapman blacked out with the morphing spell," Lauren explained. "Sara saw her chance, and grabbed the morph too."  
  
"Oh man," Cassie said. "And then, with the combined acquiring spells on him, it seemed like he fainted!"  
  
"Yep." I said.  
  
"I bet all the teachers think he has femaliphobia now." Marco joked. We all stared at him. "Oh, you know, the unreasonable fear of females? Girls?" We glared. Marco shrugged. "Hey! What did I say?"  
  
"Uh, well, its time for us to split." Jake said.  
  
"Sure," Lauren said. "See you around." All four of us waved good bye to them and we walked on our way.  
  
"Well, why don't we try this little new morph out?" I suggested.  
  
"Okay!" Lauren exclaimed enthusiastically.  
  
"Sorry, we can't." Rachel said. "I have a major writing report due, and I need to get it done."  
  
"Ditto." Cassie said. "I'll see you tomorrow!" They walked off, leaving us to keep walking our direction.  
  
"Do you think this will work?" Lauren asked.  
  
"I dunno," I replied. "for all we know, this could be one of my worst ideas."  
  
"And I never got a chance to really hate Visser Three." Lauren said with a smile. I smiled back.  
  
"Well, c'mon, race you!" I said.  
  
"Oh puhlease." Lauren said, "You know I could never beat you."  
  
"Well, still, I want to get home early." I said, and started to jog at an easy pace. Lauren ran after me.  
  
We burst though the front door to an empty house. Uncle Gran had gone to get some groceries, as said in a note I found on the table.  
  
"Well, lets try this out now, and then you can go on ahead home." I said. My homework was going to swamp me that night, and I wanted to get it done. I pulled off my outer clothes to reveal my usual practice leotard.  
  
"We really need to find some way to morph normal clothing." Lauren commented. "This spandex would really not be good if we have to morph in the winter, and its almost fall." Underneath her outer clothing, she was wearing a black leotard, similar to Rachel's.  
  
"Let's try this." I said, and concentrated on our assistant principal.  
  
It was an easy morph, because not much changed. I grew taller and wider. My face squished around, changing. It didn't take long for the morph to finish, and then I braced myself for his thoughts. To my utmost relief I couldn't exactly hear all his thoughts. There were just impulses, feelings.  
  
"Man," Lauren said. "He doesn't want to miss his football game." I snickered with Chapman's mouth, then realized we were both naked.  
  
"Um, I guess we'd better borrow some of Gran's clothes." I said nervously. Moments later we were fully clothed, testing Chapman's body out.  
  
"This is so weird!" Lauren said. "I'm glad I'm a girl. It feels so weird to be bald!"  
  
"Yeah, I know." I said, reaching up and feeling my bald spot. "Well, it's not exactly a hard morph to master, so that's probably enough. You can go home now. We'll decide what to do tomorrow."  
  
"Okay." Lauren said in her middle-aged voice. "You know, Chapman doesn't like standing next to himself. He's nervous." We laughed, then went to my room and morphed back to ourselves. Lauren pulled on her outer clothes and left for home, waving.  
  
"I really like your hair!" I called after her. She stuck her tongue out at me, playfully. I went back in the house to finish my homework, wondering how we should go about warning Alloran.  
  
Gran came home and tried out a new curry recipe on me. It wasn't bad, considering how long he'd been cooking. Then Gran went to watch the episode of Star Trek that was on tonight. He said it reminded him of home, sometimes. Other times he would laugh at its inaccuracies. I leaned on the couch, watching too. But soon I felt my eyelids drooping, and I left for bed, leaving Gran shouting.  
  
"That is so weird, how they managed to reproduce the Vointe homeworld exactly. Though they call it Tallaxia. I wonder if any Controllers help them with their facts..." I collapsed into bed and turned out the light. I wondered if the Andalite, who I had nearly forgotten, would visit my dreams again tonight. Who was he, anyway? I fell asleep with the Ellimist's words ringing in my head. Bonds... Bonds....  
  
I was in a glowing blue room. The Andalite was there- he came toward me. I looked down at myself- I was an Andalite again.  
  
Okay, that's enough! I said angrily. I'm getting tired of this charade. Could you PLEASE tell me who you are, and what you want with me? The Andalite turned sad eyes toward me.  
  
That I can tell you now, Wisteria Delphini Saramistrum. I am Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. And Sara- Suddenly he switched to my human name. Sara, I am your father.  
  
At first, I did nothing, just standing there, shocked. Then suddenly, I sat bolt upright. It seems that people have a sort of "security system" on their dreams. Just before one dies in their dream, they wake up. Well, this happened to me. I started to scream in shock.  
  
After Uncle Gran had comforted me, and I was feeling calmer, I wrote a letter and left it on my bed telling Uncle Gran that I was going to be going to the forest. I might be there all night, I had wrote. I morphed to my barn owl and flew as fast as I could for the forest. I was feeling like a huge brick had been dropped right on my head. It seemed so surreal, and I thought of how straight out Prince, Elfangor was it? Had been. It was like in Star Wars when Darth Vader had told Luke about being his father.  
  
Ax? I called out desperately, Ax! Please come out! I started to morph out quickly. Once I had gotten most of my human features, Ax arrived. I started to cry and pour out the whole story. I don't know why I was crying, but I was.  
  
Wait, Ax interrupted when I had first mentioned Prince Elfangor's name. did you say Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul? He asked.  
  
"Yes, what of it?" I asked.  
  
Prince Elfangor, is my older brother. Ax said.  
  
"This is getting stranger by the minute." I said, and continued to pour out what had happened. Ax stood in awe at what I said.  
  
I never knew this. Ax said. Elfangor had a child?  
  
"I guess, because I'm standing here." I said. "I don't know if I'll ever sleep again." Just then though, I started to feel very fatigued. My legs started to feel like lead weights. All that speedy morphing was finally catching up to me. I sat down quickly on a fallen log, laid  
  
down, and immediately fell asleep.  
  
The next morning, Ax was sitting next to me, apparently staying there the whole night to make sure I was all right. I slowly sat up and yawned. It had been a rough night for me, and Elfangor had not reappeared.  
  
"Ax?" I asked.  
  
Yes? He replied, with sleep in his 'voice'. He probably had just woke up a little bit before me.  
  
"Thanks." I said.  
  
For what? He asked.  
  
"For listening." I said. "You don't know what it is like without anyone to listen to what you are saying." I know it was crazy then, but I gave him a hug. He was pretty shocked at it too. After telling Ax about my dream, it was like the brick on my head had lifted slightly. It was still there, but lighter.  
  
I had to leave then, because I needed to go home so Uncle Gran didn't have much of a conniption.  
  
After I had left...  
  
Tobias landed from the branches just above Ax and perched on the fallen log where I had been sitting.  
  
So will you tell me why Sara just hugged you? Tobias asked.  
  
No, I promised her that I would not tell anyone, that she must tell you herself. Ax said. He really wanted to tell Tobias, but didn't.  
  
Everyone is wondering why she has been acting so strangely lately. Tobias said. I hope you aren't going to be the same way like when you couldn't tell us the Andalite laws.  
  
No, Ax said, All will be clear soon. He left to perform his morning rituals.  
  
I laid on my bed, thinking very hard. My mind whirled. Words and images flitted through my head, trying to connect. Prince Elfangor. . . Father. . Ax. . . my UNCLE???. . . bonds. . . bonds. . . Tobias. . . Tobias? Where had THAT come from? Before I could begin to speculate, a cry rent the air.  
  
"TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" A hawk screamed, flying through my open window, landing on my chest and glaring into my eyes. Okay! Enough! Tobias growled. Tell me NOW what the heck is going on! Ax is acting strangely, YOU'RE acting strangely, you're seeing things, playing weird songs, and I want to know what's going on NOW! I winced as his talons dug in slightly.  
  
"Ow. Okay, Tobias. Get off." He lifted up and perched precariously on my bedpost. I sat up, rubbing my neck. "Well, see, it all started at the mall."  
  
The mall? Tobias said.  
  
"Yeah. Rachel took me, Cassie and Lauren to the mall to teach us to be mall rats. I was in the dressing room, and-"  
  
Oh, yeah. I remember that. You saw an Andalite who you said was you because it had the same scratch you did. I rubbed the scratch on my arm.  
  
"Mmm hmm. And then the next thing that happened was when I played the piano. You know about that." Tobias cocked his head.  
  
Yes. But I don't see what the piano had to do with anything. I shrugged.  
  
"I don't know. But that night, I dreamed about Prince Elfangor." Tobias looked up.  
  
Elfangor? But... you've never seen him! How could you know? I nodded.  
  
"That's right. I didn't know who he was at the time. He just told me he was reaching me through an Ellimist, and he gave me this." I stood up and began morphing the Andalite I had in me. I did it as quickly as possible so Tobias wouldn't faint or do anything similarly silly. I pawed the carpet a bit, my hooves straining for nourishment and not finding any. Tobias was staring at me. If hawks could look astonished, he would be.  
  
You-you- you.... ummm. I smiled with my eyes, as Andalites do.  
  
This is what Elfangor gave me, Tobias. But there's something else he gave me, something I haven't yet come to terms with. I looked around nervously, almost not wanting to say it. He said... He said he's my father.  
  
Tobias fell off the bedpost. Tobias? Wake up! I said, and picked him up. He was out cold. I carefully set the bird on my bed and I morphed out, waiting for him to come around. I was distressed greatly, for no actual reason, since it was totally understandable for him to do what he did, but I still was nervous. It was like, it was my job to protect him. The bonds thing lanced through my mind. Was this the bond that the Ellimist was talking about? That I was protective of Tobias for some reason? I tossed the thought aside.  
  
After what seemed to be an eternity, Tobias leaped to his feet, and hopped to the bedpost again. He ruffled his feathers and started to preen before he noticed me.  
  
Oh, what happened? The bird asked.  
  
"You fainted after hearing what I said, Elfangor being my father." I explained.  
  
This makes no sense. Tobias said.  
  
"Well, I guess anything's possible with an Ellimist." I replied. "Who is  
  
Prince Elfangor anyway? I've only heard about him through Rachel and Cassie."  
  
As they probably told you, Prince Elfangor gave us all the power to morph, and let us know about the Yeerks. Tobias explained. Soon after, he was then killed by Visser Three. I felt something towards him though, like I had known him all this time.  
  
I sat still soaking all this info in. Then Tobias said I need to go now. The owls are out now and you know how silent they are. He hopped over to the window.  
  
"Tobias?" I called.  
  
Yeah? He replied.  
  
"Thanks." I said. "Please don't tell the others now. I want to find out more, and they won't be able to accept it yet."  
  
Okay, I guess. Tobias said, and flew off into the night.  
  
I watched him go, and laid back in my original position on the bed. I stared at the celing where my fan was slowly rotating. I closed my eyes, thinking.  
  
Suddenly, a scene appeared on the insides of my eyelids. I saw a blonde woman, strikingly pretty, at a piano. I could hear the song that she was playing, and recognized it to be the one that I had been playing at Cassie's house. Beside her was a red-tailed hawk, listening to the music. I realized that the color of her hair was the same as Tobias as a human. A man appeared at her other side, smiling. His hair was the same as mine. I tried to call out to them, but either they couldn't or wouldn't hear, like I was a ghost. Then my eyes snapped open.  
  
When Gran woke up, I told him all about what had happened. He nodded.  
  
"I can tell you a little more, Sara. I'm not sure how much you know already. You know how Elfangor chose to live as a nothlit in human form on Earth, and he had a child." I nodded. "He was pulled off Earth and out of the human form by an Ellimist, and put back into the battle. This I know, for Elfangor told me before he died." I swallowed.  
  
"Just how did he die, Gran?" Gran looked away, turning slightly green.  
  
"Your friends saw it, I didn't. Ask them." I shrugged and nodded, slowly.  
  
"What I still don't get is why Elfangor's contacting me now, and why I got the Andalite morph."  
  
"Well, Ellimists always say they fix what is broken. Maybe something it broken. Maybe at some point you were supposed to get that morph, but didn't. Ellimists are very picky." I held my head. All this was too confusing. I found myself wishing I had a normal life and didn't have to worry about my dead alien father coming in my dreams and speaking to me by the aid of an omnipotent being from somewhere on the other side of the galaxy. I sighed.  
  
"Oh, well. I guess it's time to go to school." Gran nodded and handed me my lunch. I hugged him, got my backpack, and stepped out the front door. Lauren met me at the bus stop.  
  
"Hi, Sara. What's wrong?" I blinked. My emotions must be showing through.  
  
"Oh, nothing." I said cheerfully. "Nothing at all." Lauren looked at me strangely, but said nothing.  
  
"Oh, by the way, Tobias came by just a minute ago and said we-" she glanced around at the other kids at the bus stop. "We're um, going to get together tonight, after school." she lowered her voice. "In the woods this time. He said Ax's got something to say." Lauren frowned at me. "Sara, would you please tell me what's going on? Tobias had the strangest look about him. I swear, he looked so jumpy I asked if he'd had a run-in with an owl. He just looked at me sort of strangely and said, 'be there.' Sara, what is it? You can tell me." I shook my head firmly.  
  
"I can't tell you, Lauren. I'm sorry. Ax'll explain." She frowned at me, but then the bus came before she could say anything.  
  
I didn't pay hardly any attention in class that day. I was too busy thinking. What did Tobias have to do with anything? Why did he keep appearing in my visions? Why was this happening? Finally school was over, and I hurried home, left a hastily scribbled note to Gran on the table and hurried off to the forest. I had just reached the clearing where everyone was gathered when suddenly my head wheeled. Everything swirled around me. Then, with a strange noise rather like the last bit of water disappearing out of a bathtub, it solidified. I was in the blue room again- and Elfangor was standing in front of me. Someone next to me gasped. I turned, surprised. It was Tobias.  
  
My children. Elfangor said. Now you will get the answers you are waiting for.  
  
I was in my Andalite form again, and Tobias was human.  
  
Tobias? I asked. What are you doing here?  
  
"Likewise!" Tobias said. "Is this the Vision you are talking about?"  
  
Yes, but the thing I want to know is why are YOU here? We're not related, except as friends. I said. Why are you included?  
  
I have an explaination for that Wisteria. Elfangor answered. From the time you were born, you two have been linked in a way only few beings in this universe have known.  
  
What are you talking about? I said. I got the feeling my questions about the Ellimist were going to be answered. The only links between people that I knew of were psychic links, and those soul mate links, but those are the romantic and mushy links.  
  
You and Tobias are fraternal twins. He answered.  
  
Tobias and I stared at each other, then at Elfangor, then back again. I remembered from science class that fraternal twins are twins that have totally diffrent genetics, just born on the same day. Identical twins were the twins that made twins so renowned. I started to morph back to my human self, but I wasn't making myself. I noticed once again the similarities between Tobias and myself. Tobias sank to his knees, too shocked and too weak now to stand up.  
  
"Twins?" Tobias squeaked. "But why--"  
  
Why do you have no Andalite qualities? Elfangor completed. Tobias nodded. Actually you do, but in your sister the Andalite genes were dominant, so Andalite features developed. It was recessive in you.  
  
"This makes no sense." I said, now with a human mouth. Prince Elfangor was beginning to change to his human morph. I just stared, as I recognized the man in my dream with the piano. I then rememinded myself, "What was with the piano?" I asked.  
  
"Your mother, Loren, was very excellent with the piano. That song was one of her favorites to play." Elfangor explained once he had a mouth.  
  
"Our mother, what was she like?" Tobias asked.  
  
"Your mother, whose name was Loren, had accompanied me on my most strange adventures." Elfangor said. He suddenly took on a very sad expression. "When I was torn from my human life and put back into my original, you both still had your Andalite genes. Your new father and Loren as far as I am guessing, had a quarrel and split up, Loren taking you, Tobias, and her husband taking Sara when you were both just infants. However, your bonds still remained, and soon you would both meet up again. The Ellimist soon told me that Loren's new husband was killed in a car crash, but you had survived Sara. I sent Gran, as you call him, to become your new guardian."  
  
Tobias and I listened silently. I started to cry, listening to his sad story. I wanted to rush over and hug him, I also wanted to scream at him for not fighting the Ellmist. I did neither.  
  
"It all makes sense now." I said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Tobias asked.  
  
"Haven't you noticed?" I said. "Whenever you were in trouble, I became protective and wanted to rescue you. Remember at the mall? When those bullies came? The way I fought? The time when you were captured by the Controllers? It's this bond at work."  
  
"You're right," Tobias said. "And whenever you were also in trouble, I did the same. We ARE twins!" Tobias hugged me, and I had no choice but to return the hug, but I kind of hugged him back, because it was like finding a long lost sibling, or something of the sort. Elfangor smiled at his children.  
  
"You will see me once more before I leave you." He said. "Stay by each other, because together, you can accomplish much." He paused. "And--I love you both."  
  
I was back in the forest again. Tobias was beside me, his fierce hawk eyes still closed. He opened them and looked at me. Did you-- He asked.  
  
"Yeah." I said. "Did you?"  
  
Yeah. Tobias said.  
  
"Oh." I said. "Okay." Then we both fainted.  
  
"Hey! Sar! Tobias! Wake up! What happened?" My eyes flew open. I was staring into the face of a very concerned Rachel. Behind her were Marco and Lauren. I sat up suddenly, causing Rachel to jump. I looked sideways at Tobias.  
  
Not yet. I said simply.  
  
Then when? he asked.  
  
When they know the rest.  
  
But when- Tobias broke off when I leapt up suddenly.  
  
"Don't worry, everyone. We're fine. Just had a long day, I guess." They looked at me very strangely, but said nothing. I hurried forward to the clearing. The rest of the Animorphs were just arriving and sitting in a sort of circle around Ax. I sat down, along with Rachel, Marco and Lauren. Tobias, instead of sitting on my shoulder, sat on a branch. I think he was too shaken to be too near to people right then. Ax shuffled slightly, which is the Andalite equivalent of clearing your throat.  
  
I have some important news. he said. It has to do with Sara's- I leapt up in shock.  
  
"What? Ax! You promised not to tell! How could you betray me? You kept quiet about that one Andalite's kindness long enough! You could keep quiet about my-" I broke off, realized I had been about to blurt out the secret myself. "Ah, my secret! Didn't you listen to a word I said?" Ax was looking totally bewildered.  
  
Sara! I wasn't going to tell about that. I was going to say, it has to do with Sara's idea about Visser Three.  
  
"Oh." I sat down quickly, ignoring the strange looks everyone but Tobias was giving me. "Um, sorry. Go on, Ax." Ax looked hurt.  
  
As I was saying, about Sara's idea about warning Alloran, Visser Three's host, about the instinct theory.  
  
"Theory nothing." Jake said. "We've tested it. It works."  
  
"Yeah!" Marco agreed. "We definitely tested it."  
  
"Okay." Ax said. "So about the instinct cure. We got Chapman's morph so we could go in as him and talk to Visser Three. But I've got another solution." He paused. We waited.  
  
"Well? Go on!" Rachel hissed impatiently.  
  
"Remember before, I was going to kill Visser Three at his feeding grounds? Well, that was acutally not a bad idea. Andalites need quite a large area to feed in. Lately I have been searching for another possible feeding ground. I searched quite a large area and saw nothing. But then one day I happened to fly above a meeting of the Sharing, and I listened in. They said something about the Visser being at Palm hill at nine in the morning the next day. Remember where Palm hill is- over by that lake? Well, I went there at nine, and guess what I saw?"  
  
"What? What? What?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Visser Three, with a few choice bodyguards, went to Palm Hill and moved aside a big rock. Under the rock was a tunnel, which they entered. His feeding ground must be underground!" We sat in stunned silence, trying to imagine such a scene.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Marco asked with a grin. "Xena, would you do the honors?" But Rachel was looking at me strangely.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Let's go!" She tried to make it sound excited, but failed. Marco frowned but shrugged it off.  
  
"You heard the Warrior Princess, folks! Let's get going!" As everyone began morphing, Rachel thought-spoke to me.  
  
I need to speak to you, Sara. I got a foreboding feeling from this, and began to worry slightly. We all took off in our bird forms. Marco flapped hard, catching up with Ax.  
  
Hey, Ax! What's going on with Sara? What's the secret?  
  
I can't tell you! Ax said, annoyed.  
  
Come on, Ax! We need to know if she's going to do something dangerous, like you trying to call home. Cassie said, catching up with them.  
  
That's not it. Ax said. But that's all I can say.  
  
Aaaaax, come on. Unnoticed in the rising argument, I fell back with Rachel.  
  
What's the problem, Rach? I asked, failing to sound cheerful as Rachel had failed to sound excited.  
  
It's Tobias. she said. Do you think he's okay? He's been acting strangely lately, sort of depressed.  
  
Oh, he'll be fine. I said, cheerfully this time. He can take care of himself.  
  
Yeah. Rachel said. Well, I'll get straight to the point. You like him, don't you?  
  
Of course.  
  
No, I mean like as in LIKE.  
  
Naturally I do. I said, completely failing to see the point. Rachel gave a sort of sigh.  
  
I thought so. Anyway, I just wanted you to know, it's okay with me. I'll be fine. Suddenly I realized what she was saying.  
  
Oh, I see. Rachel- you need to know. He's my brother.  
  
Rachel dropped like five feet. I swooped down to her. Don't black out, Rach. I can't catch you.  
  
B-brother? Rachel burst out.  
  
It's part of what Ax isn't supposed to say. I'll tell you all of it as soon as we're done saving the world for today.  
  
Brother? Rachel murmured to herself. Brother?! I hurried to catch up with the others, leaving Rachel with her thoughts.  
  
We got there with about an hour left to spare. It was partially because Rachel kept falling back, and I don't blame her. After all, it was like going up to your best friend and saying that you're cousins.  
  
After looking around for a moment, we found a place where we could safely morph out for a moment and rest.  
  
"Okay." Jake said, taking control again. "We are going to need some sort of morph that is small, but can take a little damage. We'll get in there, some of us will create a distraction, and Ax'll tell Alloran the weakness. Then we will get out of there as quickly as possible."  
  
"Sounds good to me, oh fearless leader." Marco said.  
  
"I'm not the leader." Jake defended.  
  
"You are so, don't deny it." Marco said back.  
  
I slapped my forehead with my hand like I do whenever someone is doing something stupid, or crazy, then said. "C'mon you two, we can debate rulership later, right now we need a morph in order to get in there."  
  
Jake and Marco cut their argument short, and we all exchanged glances for a moment. It didn't take us long to finally decide-cockroaches. They  
  
don't have the powerful instincts like termites, and you don't get ripped to shreds, like an ant. Cockroaches could withstand a little bit of punishment, and they're experts at getting into little spaces.  
  
I kept my eyes closed as much as possible, since cockroach morphing is not exactly a pretty sight. By the time I was finished morphing, I couldn't see much, and so didn't have to worry about throwing up all over myself. All I could see is a group of shrinking shapes, and I was glad for it.  
  
Once I had finished beating down the cockroach mind, which wasn't exactly in the best of moods, since there was light all around and no dark, we all headed towards the largest thing, the hill. My sensitive cockroach antannae could pick up the draft coming from the inside of the rock.  
  
There! I yelled to the others. Follow the draft. I'll bet anything that that draft is where the rock is.  
  
Are you sure? Lauren asked.  
  
Yes, I reassured. There is hardly any wind today, and the inside of a hill is generally pretty cool.  
  
If you say so. Lauren replied.  
  
We headed slowly towards the place where the rock was, and found a crack where we could get in. Luckily, in the dark light, the guards didn't notice eight scattered cockroaches. The cockroach mind calmed down and relaxed as we got into a darker area.  
  
Is it just my imagination, or is this suddenly going to get a little stranger? Marco queried. Suddenly, he got his answer. The tunnel we were in seemed to suddenly explode in size and light. My antennae could pick up a slight breeze.  
  
My cockroach brain was freaking out, being in a place with brightness and open spaces, it could easily get squished.  
  
We need a place where we can morph. Jake said. Follow the cockroach's instincts. It can find a dark space faster.  
  
We all did as told, and let go slightly of our hold on the cockroach  
  
consciousness. Man, did this little critter have energy! It was screaming  
  
for darkness, and scattered to the nearest place to hide. Luckily, we all  
  
found the same alcove, that was secluded from the light.  
  
I carefully morphed out, making sure I wasn't seen. We were in a small cave, and I saw a huge plain out in front of me. Over in the corner was a small stream, and drinking with his hooves there, was Visser Three.  
  
Morph out slowly. I said to them with fear. And stay close to the wall.  
  
Why? Tobias asked. We're hidden.  
  
Yes, I said. But Visser Three is here.  
  
They followed my advice, and morphed out at the side of the wall, keeping out of the light.  
  
"So what will we do?" Lauren asked. "There isn't enough room for us to all morph, and if we did, we would all be forced out of this cave before we were finished morphing."  
  
I smiled at her, my eyes glowing, and I began to morph. I know it was against my thing of keeping things secret from them, but we needed a distraction and now. Blue and purple fur began to sprout all over my body. Stalk eyes sprouted from my head while a deadly tail came from my spine. I felt a tingling sensation in my chest as my second and third "hearts" grew to their normal size and began to operate. You see, Andalites have three hearts, but I am only half Andalite, so they never fully developed to pump blood, so they were just two small lumps attached to my real heart. The doctors all say that its just a small defect. Within a minute, I had become my Andalite self.  
  
"What the--" Jake said.  
  
"An Andalite?!?" Cassie asked in astonishment.  
  
"How the heck did you get that?" Lauren asked as well.  
  
"What's it for?" Marco also asked. I only answered his for now.  
  
Its a distraction. I said mischeviously. Ax! Come with me. Two Andalites should really surprise Visser Three. Until now, he's only seen you. Okay, the rest of you come up on the other side of him while he's distracted. You can morph one by one, and then leap out. Let's GO! Ax and I leapt forward, thundering toward a very surprised-looking Visser Three. Suddenly I had a brainstorm.  
  
Father! We're here! We have come to rescue you! I remembered that, in accounting their previous adventures, the Animorphs had noted Alloran had two children. Ax stared at me in astonishment, then caught on quickly.  
  
Father! We know how to get you free of that Yeerk. We can help you. For a moment the furious face of Visser Three contorted.  
  
Jamen? Rishi? No- it cannot be. I- His face twisted again and was replaced by the horrrible angry face of Visser Three. But at the moment of confusion, Tobias, who was still a hawk, leapt into the Visser's face and screamed,  
  
Alloran! War-prince Alloran! Listen to me! In your mind, there is an area which controls instincts. The Yeerk is afraid of this part of your brain- deathly afraid. You must access this part of your brain. The Yeerk will be ejected from your head! You can do it! You must do it! Now! I ignored the battle around me, the Hork-Bajir who had come with the Visser trying with all their might to save their leader. I stared intently at Visser Three, watching him. He looked frightened.  
  
No! Not the instincts! I won't let you, you pitiful Andalite. I am stronger than you- AARGH! Suddenly the Yeerk shot out of the Andalite's head, flying above us. I paid no attention to where it landed. Alloran, now free, looked extremely tired.  
  
Th- thank you, young ones. He looked up into my face. You look almost exactly like my young Rishi, child. Almost a spitting image. I smiled with my eyes.  
  
What kind of person is this Rishi, War-prince Alloran? He eye-smiled at me. I was amazed to see such an expression on one who had been so evil. I had never seen anything but hate on the face of Visser Three. Rachel leapt away from knocking over the last Hork-Bajir.  
  
This is all very sweet, but hadn't we better be leaving? I grabbed Alloran's weak Andalite arm.  
  
Come on, War-prince. We'd better go before there are reinforcements. Alloran looked at me suddenly, in fright.  
  
The Yeerk! Where is it? I suddenly realized I had made a very bad mistake. We instantly fell to searching the cave frantically, but the Yeerk was not to be found. Racked with worry and regret, I dashed to the door.  
  
We can't worry now! Let's get out of here! We dashed out the small cave entrance, Ax leading Alloran. We had made it only a few dozen feet when we heard an awful noise. I looked up, nervously.  
  
I've got a baad feeling about this... Marco said, nervously. Suddenly three Bug fighters appeared out of the clouds. One landed and Hork-Bajir soon began pouring out of it. The other two tried to pick us off. Even in my panic, I managed to notice two things- they were very bad shots, and they were keeping a wide berth from Alloran. The old Andalite thought quickly.  
  
Behind me, all of you! he shouted. We quickly obeyed. He stood proudly, no longer tired. If you want them, you'll have to kill me! He called to the waiting Hork-Bajir. The great monsters hesitated, and the Dracon beams stopped firing. We stood silent, nervous.  
  
Now what? Jake asked. We've got a standoff. We can't leave without being shot, and they can shoot while we're standing here without hitting Alloran. Suddenly a Dracon beam laced down and hit Alloran right in the chest. He grunted and fell. We stood there for a moment, mystified, then as one dashed out of there like we had dogs at our heels. The Dracon beams zipped out but missed us, and we soon reached the relative safety of the woods.  
  
Are they insane? Marco screamed. They just knocked out their only Andalite! I was desperately wishing for tear ducts right then.  
  
Stun beam. Ax said grimly. He's only unconscious.  
  
We were so close! Cassie moaned. SO close!! I paid attention to none of them.  
  
It's my fault. I murmured. I did it.  
  
Sara, what are you talking about? Tobias said, irritated. You had nothing to do-  
  
It's my fault! I screamed, then dashed away from them through the forest at top speed, paying no attention to the calls for me to come back.  
  
I ran, trying my best to cry but not being able to since Andalites don't really have tear ducts. I was sick of risking my life, sick of getting into the worst situations, sick of being the oddball. I was diffrent from everyone else, not a human, nor an Andalite. I was a hybrid, a cross-breed, and I was sick of it! I wanted to be one or the other, but not both. I wanted a normal life! Since I couldn't become a full human, I was going to go the other way--Andalite.  
  
My Andalite timing sense told me that I had about an hour and a half left, before the nightmare would be over. I would live in the forest, living off the grass. I would be a hermit, not needing anyone. I needed to keep moving. I didn't want the others to find me, then they would forget about me and go on with their lives.  
  
I slowed to a trot, walking through the woods. Ax couldn't have kept up with me because I was just overall faster. Don't ask me why.  
  
Every time I saw some sort of animal, I would break into a gallop again, thinking it to be one of them. It was an hour and fifteen minutes before it would be over.  
  
After a while, I was in new territory. The others would have no chance of finding me, and I was hungry. I dug my hooves into the grass, the taste sharper than when I was a cross-breed. This place seemed good to stay, with grass and I heard a small stream running nearby. Thirty minutes left.  
  
I ran around for a while, scoping out this new land. Any creature that decided to mess with me would have to answer to my tail. After a while, I heard a distant voice. It sounded familiar.  
  
Sara? It called. Sara! After processing it a moment, I recognized it to be one of the others. Wasn't her name something like Lauren? Yes, that was it, Lauren. She was one of my friends. Wait a moment, weren't they going to take me away from this life of peace and throw me back into the battle again? I ran again, away from the voice. I wanted to get far away from the voice, the voice of battle.  
  
I ran back into the woods again. I didn't go far until I found myself face to face with a wolf. I got my tail out, ready to fight it.  
  
Whoa! Sara! Calm down, its me, Cassie. The wolf said. Oh yes, she was another one. You know there aren't many creatures that can out-distance a wolf.  
  
Leave me alone! I cried. I don't want to go back to my other life.  
  
Other life? Cassie asked. What other life?  
  
It was my fault he got captured again! My fault! I screamed. The wolf looked up at a group of birds over head.  
  
How much longer does she have? Cassie asked.  
  
About twenty minutes. A voice said from up above. I recognized it to be Ax, another Andalite. At least I wouldn't be alone here.  
  
Twenty minutes?!? Another voice who I recognized to be Marco said. She's committing morphicide! I could remember them all again now. The other three were Jake, Rachel, and Tobias. Tobias? There was something about him, now I remembered. He was my brother. But a human can't be a brother to an Andalite. It wasn't possible!  
  
Morphicide? Jake asked with disgust.  
  
In other words, she is going to exceed the two hour limit, on purpose! Marco explained.  
  
We've got to stop her! Rachel said desperately.  
  
I don't think that's possible. Cassie said. I think she's snapped.  
  
I had enough of this. I ran again, at full speed, away from them. I had fifteen minutes left, and then they could do nothing about it. I ignored their calls again, and Cassie tried to follow me, but I weaved in and out, making it difficult for her to track me.  
  
I ran a little ways until a red-tailed hawk landed in front of me.  
  
Sara, what are you doing!?!?!? The hawk who I recognized to be Tobias. How could he be my brother? I realized then that I wasn't alone with this hawk. An Andalite was with us. It wasn't Ax, or any of the others. Oh yes, he was my father.  
  
Sara, you must remember your past. This Andalite said. Just then, visions flashed before my eyes. I saw many events occurring, all when I was human. I saw myself being taught to shop by Rachel, getting into a snowball fight with Lauren while walking home, knocking some literal sense into Marco, rescuing Tom along side Jake, helping Cassie with some injured animals, flying with Tobias,--Tobias, my brother. It made sense to me again. Being a hybrid was my destiny, it was who I was, and I couldn't change it. Without me, the others would loose, and I HAD to fight.  
  
I returned to the real world, with Tobias in front of me. I had to make a choice of being an Andalite, or a human, with only five minutes left.  
  
I stood pawing the ground, looking up at my friends. They didn't want me to leave... But I could still help them, just without the morphing power. I was torn. It was hard to concentrate with my Andalite clock on full alarm. Five minutes! Four minutes! Morph now!!! NOW!! I was about to give up when an image came into my mind. Uncle Gran. What would he do if I was an Andalite roaming the forest? He had given up the morphing powers to save me. I couldn't just leave him alone.  
  
Finally decided, I quickly morphed out of the Andalite shape and back to my human form. I sat weakly down on the forest floor, covered my face with my hands and started to cry.  
  
Suddenly I was in the blue room again. I looked up in shock, then in anger.  
  
"Leave me alone!" I screamed to nobody, barely realizing I was still human.  
  
SARA.  
  
I heard the Ellimist's voice and frowned. "What is it? You don't need me any more! Go bother someone else!" Suddenly I realized it was through the Ellimist I had found my brother, my father, and acquired the Andalite morph. "Well," I said, calming down. "I guess I should thank you. I'm sorry- I'm not in the best of moods."  
  
I don't know how to explain it, but I could feel a sort of amusement coming from the room. It was like feeling a smile.  
  
YOU HAVE DONE WELL, SARA.  
  
I stood, looking around. I was not sure how to answer that, so I said nothing.  
  
DO YOU NOT WISH TO KNOW WHY I GAVE YOU THE MORPH, AND THE INFORMATION?  
  
"Of course!" I cried. This was exactly what had been nagging at the back of my head ever since the dreams.  
  
I THOUGHT SO. Again I felt the smile. WE ELLIMISTS FIX WHAT IS BROKEN.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
AND SOMETIMES RESTORE WHAT IS MISSING.  
  
I was bewildered, and it must have showed, because the Ellimist continued.  
  
WHEN YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER DIVORCED, YOUR FATHER TOOK YOU. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.  
  
"But?" I asked.  
  
BUT, the Ellimist continued. YOUR FATHER DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT WHEN YOU WERE ONLY TWO, AND YOU WERE SENT TO AN ORPHANAGE FOR FIVE YEARS. DURING THIS TIME, GRAN WAS SENT TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. HE SPENT THE FIVE YEARS TRYING TO FIND YOU, INSTEAD OF FINDING OUT WHERE THE TIME MATRIX WOULD BE HIDDEN.  
  
There was another pause.  
  
"I'm sorry, I really don't understand." I said, completely confused.  
  
ALL WILL BECOME CLEAR, the Ellimist said. AN ELLIMIST WAS SUPPOSED TO TELL HIM ABOUT THE TIME MATRIX, BUT THIS COULD NOT BE DONE UNTIL YOU WERE FOUND. ELLIMISTS ARE BUSY TOO. SO WHEN HE FINALLY FOUND YOU, WE COULDN'T HELP. THEN HE HAD TO FIND OUT BY HIMSELF. DURING THIS TIME, YOU GREW UP.  
  
I remembered this time. I lived out a normal childhood, and Gran didn't tell me about my heritage until later.  
  
ALSO DURING THIS TIME, ELFANGOR LANDED AND HID THE MATRIX, BUT IN DOING SO HE BUMPED INTO YOUR FRIENDS- AND VISSER THREE.  
  
I shivered. I didn't want to think about how my father died. He had been eaten by Visser Three.  
  
YOUR FRIENDS WERE THERE... BUT YOU WERE NOT. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM WHICH I HAD TO FIX.  
  
I was starting to understand. "You mean I was supposed to get an Andalite morph then, but I wasn't there?" I felt the smile once more.  
  
EXACTLY!  
  
"And you fixed it, huh? What about the information?"  
  
ELFANGOR WAS GOING TO TELL TOBIAS ALL, BUT VISSER THREE CAME TOO QUICKLY FOR HIM TO DO SO. ALSO, HE WAS AFRAID YOU WOULD GIVE UP HOPE IF THIS WAS NOT KNOWN. AH- He broke off suddenly. I AM NEEDED ELSEWHERE. GOODBYE, YOUNG HUMAN.  
  
"Wait! I have so many questions!"  
  
GOODBYE. AH, YES. TAKE THIS. READ IT WELL. A small object dropped into my hand. Before I could even look at it, the blue room dissipated into nothing and I was back in the forest. Everyone was staring at me.  
  
Sara, what's wrong? You passed out! I looked up at Rachel and smiled. Then I looked at the object the Ellimist had given me. It was rectangular and had little etchings along the edges, like a computer chip.  
  
"What's that in your hand?" Marco asked.  
  
"Um," I said, "I'm not sure." I replied.  
  
"Okay, that's it, I'm sick of it!" Lauren said. "You've passed out three times in the past week! You've been acting strangely, you become morphicidal, or what ever marco the maniac called it, you see Andalites in your mirror, you can MORPH an Andalite, you suddenly have an amazing talent with the piano, you have a conniption when Tobias is picked on, and now you have an unidentified object in you hand!" I could tell that this was the time to tell them. "NOW, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!!"  
  
"Uh, ditto." Jake said, not sure how to handle Lauren's total outburst. "Really Sara, you've been falling apart at the seams for the past day, and I can tell that Rachel already knows something."  
  
"Not much." Rachel said, kind of blushing.  
  
"Well, out with it Sara," Marco said. "If you go morphicidal, pass out three times in the past week, become another Mozart, go ballistic when we're picked on by a few school bullies, see Andalites, morph Andalites, then its something that your friends need to know."  
  
"Just tell us Sara." Cassie said.  
  
Tobias focused his fierce hawk eyes at me. Go ahead. Tobias whispered to me. They should know.  
  
"All right," I said, and commenced to telling them about the visions I had been having. About the Ellimist, my Andalite half, Prince Elfangor, and finally, Tobias, and the vision we had together. It was Tobias that spellbound them the most. They just sat staring at me, and Tobias.  
  
"Oh man." Marco said. "And all this time I thought you, uh, LIKED each other. I guess I was right, in a sense."  
  
"You kind of have to admit," Lauren said, "the two do look alike in a sense, I mean, when Tobias is human."  
  
"You're like Luke and Leia." Cassie commented.  
  
"Oookay," Rachel said. "The things about the Andalites are freaking me out. I'm going home. Good bye."  
  
Everyone else followed her example and started to morph into their various birds of prey morphs. I was the last to leave, staying a few minutes after everyone had left to ask Ax something.  
  
"Ax?" I asked.  
  
Yeah? He replied.  
  
"What the heck is this?" I asked, holding up the disk like object.  
  
He took it from me, examined it for a moment, and handed it back to me, eyes wide.  
  
Its an Andalite message disk. He said. Its used to record journals, leave messages, and other things of the sort. You activate it by placing your hand on it and thinking 'activate message disk'. You'll get a telepathic message.  
  
"Thanks." I said, and started to walk home, since a bird of prey would look kind of strange holding a disk in midflight.  
  
When I got home, Uncle Gran was working on something on the computer which I could not recognize. After I had told him that I was home and how our mission went, I went upstairs and pulled the disk from my pocket. I held it in my hand and thought, Activate message disk.. In my head, I heard a message, with the voice of Prince Elfangor.  
  
This is an auxiliary message disk, companion to my hirlac delest, my final statement. It is secret since I must keep the knowledge of my second child secret from the Yeerks. They must not know about the twins that Loren had, and that one of them is a--hybrid. When I was with the Ellimist at--well, I guess one could call it a time line place, not only did I see my son's line with my little brother's line connect with the five other human's lines, but I also saw my daughter's line, and another human line join them. My daughter's line had a special glow to it, which I guess came from her being a cross-breed. She and my son's lines were far apart for a time, but they grew closer, and closer, nearly touching. I could tell that they were going to be very close.  
  
This is to my daughter, Wisteria-Delphini-Saramistrum, or Sara, as her human name is. It is a message I hope gets to you since I am entrusting it into the hands of an Ellimist. You have already heard the secret part of my last statement. I can tell that you and your friends will become very dangerous to the Yeerk invasion, maybe even destroy it, I can't tell. I must tell you though, that like in your vision you had with Tobias, you must stick by them. It's like with toothpicks. If they are single, they are easily breakable and fragile. However, together, they are nearly indestructible. I must leave you now, my daughter, with these wordsdon't ever give up. Good bye Sara, perhaps we'll meet again.  
  
And that was the end of the letter. I found out that my eyes were swelling, threatening to burst with tears. I walked to the bathroom, and started to fill the sink with water. I wanted to destroy it, in case the Yeerks might find it. It was probably not waterproof.  
  
I was about to throw the disk in when I stopped. I realized that this disk was the last and only thing I had to remember my father by. I let the water out of the sink, and went back to my room, where I took down a picture and started to do the combination on my built in safe. Once I had opened it and opened the box inside, I placed the disk in, with the two other things of my secret life as a defender of earth, my morphing cube, and my journal, where I was learning how to write in Andalite. I closed it up and put the box back in the safe.  
  
I was putting the picture back into place when I heard Uncle Gran call me.  
  
"What is it?" I called back.  
  
"DS9 is on! Do you want to watch it?" Uncle Gran called back to me.  
  
"Sure!" I replied, and started back down the stairs towards my uncle, and my human life. 


	5. Children of the Andalites Chapter 5: The...

The Hunted  
  
My name is Lauren. That's all I'm going to tell you. You can call me Lauren, Leia, total psycho, I don't care. Its what I do now that's important. I'm an Animorph now, dedicated to saving the earth that we live on from the Yeerks. They've really screwed up our lives, so we're going to screw it up back again.  
  
If you first looked at me, you'd see a girl with darkish hair, that was extraordinarily long, younger than my colleauges, and hair in a Princess Leia style. I wish I could tell you all, I really do, but if I did, it might mean the end of human freedom as we know it. What about the Civil War you say? Forget it, this is eternally more worse than that.  
  
I thought I was just an ordinary kid, excluding the fact that I fight aliens and risk my life every other day, until a guy with a camera decided to go take a walk in the woods. I thought that Sara's past was strange, but it doesn't come even close to what I am. I'll tell you about it.  
  
I think for a moment I stopped breathing. We all probably did. Ax is an Andalite, and Elfangor's little brother. He was the only survivor of a whole Andalite dome ship, and now he's trapped on Earth. To explain an Andalite, give a centaur blue and tan fur, a scorpion tail, an extra pair of eyes on the top of stalks on the top of his head, a couple extra fingers, a deer bottom instead of a horse, take away his mouth, and give him slits on his head to breathe through, and presto, you've got an Andalite. To Ax, food and taste are a total diffrent experience. You can sort of say that he goes, shall I say, hog wild over food. It drives him crazy. You've probably seen the movie "Contact", and you've seen how people react when they find out that they're not the only ones in the universe? Well, you can just imagine what that could do, not just with the humans, but with the controllers too.  
  
"Are you sure?" Jake asked, "Do you know who it is?"  
  
Sara's eyes flared slightly. "I couldn't really see very well, but I don't think its a controller. He didn't go screaming 'Andalite!' or nothing like that." Sara looks fairly normal, fairly tall, dirty blonde hair that's contstantly in a braid, the only thing that looks strange about her is her eyes. They are an incredible green, the exact same hue as Ax's eyes. I'm amazed that controllers aren't trying to kill her 24 hours a day. In reality, she's half Andalite. Yep, that means one of her parents was an Andalite and the other was a human. This gives her some special abilities, such as being able to morph very quickly, or speed morphing as we like to call it, being able to morph deceased animals(Yes, that means that she can do a T-rex!), being able to run abnormaly fast, the ability to use thought speak when not in morph, and having the ability to see who is a controller and who isn't. Now that definitely is strange, since there is NO way anyone can actually do that, not even Ax. As for her history, well, just recently it went WAY mixed up. I'll explain later. For now, I'll keep on track.  
  
"When did this happen?" I asked. Poor Ax, he can never resist food.  
  
"About five minutes ago." Sara replied, "I was talking with another member of my figure skating team, and I saw Ax out of the corner of my eye  
  
in some bushes, along with a pretty bird. I was about to call to him in thought-speak to get out of there, when I saw a camera shutter going off over on the end of the field. I'm almost certain that it was a bird watcher getting a picture of the bird that was with Ax. As far as I can tell, he got a GOOD picture."  
  
"Well, its not good for us." Marco said. "We need to find out who that was, and get that roll of film before he develops it."  
  
What about Ax? Tobias queried. How's he doing?  
  
"I haven't checked." Sara admitted, "I was so nervous when I saw that shutter go off. We should go check on him."  
  
"Agreed." Rachel said, "Sara, Lauren, Cassie, and I will go check on Ax.You three stay here and keep an eye on Chapman's movements. And Marco, you're NOT getting that cake!" She snatched the box away from him, and started to walk towards the field, trying not to look too conspiciuous.  
  
"Yes, all mighty Xena!" Marco said, keeping his voice down.  
  
I'm coming with you four. Tobias answered, and started to fly from tree to tree as best he could. I'm not staying here with mister sugar lunatic.  
  
We started to walk as normally as we could towards where Sara said that Ax became a snapshot, with Tobias flying a short distance away.  
  
As we approached the spot, our heart sank to see a huge circle of people clustered around something, shouting and yelling. I could hear only snatches of the conversation, but it was enough to know that we were in trouble. Big trouble.  
  
"Lemme see!"  
  
"I was here first!"  
  
"Oh my God! What is it?"  
  
"It's.... blue! Looks like a blue deer!"  
  
"No, more like one of those mythological thingies- what are they called?"  
  
"I don't care what it is! It's an alien! AAAAH! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"  
  
I ignored the fact that the last shout had been closer to the truth than most of the students there realized, and fought my way to the center of the circle. "'Scuze me, 'scuze me," I muttered, forcing through the mob. Despite my efforts, Sara got there before me and forcibly turned the birdwatcher's hand toward her so she could see. She turned a pale face to me, but she didn't need to explain. I saw very well.  
  
It was a perfectly clear picture of an Andalite- a very surprised Andalite, and a reddish blur that was probably the bird flying away as fast as it could. I didn't blame it. Right now I would have loved to fly away, get away from it all, but I couldn't.  
  
I had my duty.  
  
Rachel and Cassie had managed to get to the circle's center too, and they were staring in amazement, trying to figure out what to do.  
  
"Sara," Cassie whispered urgently. "Are any of them-" She was already scanning the crowd, concentrating hard.  
  
"I can't do them all!" Sara whispered. "They're too many! I don't see anyone!"  
  
"Maybe we can-" Rachel was interrupted as sirens suddenly filled the air. Seconds later, four police cars, lights blaring, screeched into the parking lot. Sixteen or so policemen (and policewomen) piled out and ran toward the crowd. I looked at Sara. She was squinting at the police.  
  
"Yes," she whispered. "All of them, I think." The police began to break up the crowd, screaming at kids to get along home or they'd be thrown into jail. Most left- but not all the way, of course. They retreated, watching. Having no choice, we went with the flow of scared and excited students and waited.  
  
"Come with us," A hard-looking policewoman said, grabbing the luckless birdwatcher/photographer by the arm. "We can't have you disturbing the peace."  
  
"B-but I-"  
  
"You won't be hurt," One of the policemen said coldly. "But we'll have to confiscate the picture."  
  
"Here! Take it!" The student waved the picture. The policewoman grabbed it.  
  
"I think you'd still better come with us," she said, and they moved toward the cars. Many of the students, disappointed, began to leave, chattering excitedly about the alien.  
  
"They'll make him into a Controller!" Rachel hissed. "We have to do something!"  
  
"Tobias!" Cassie said. "Where-"  
  
As if on cue, a flash of brown shot from the sky, materializing as a hawk by the policewoman's shoulder, grabbing the photo and making off with it. But he was flying very low, and seemed to be having trouble.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked, then realized it. The photograph was thin and slippery, and Tobias was trying not to drop it. He managed to get a hold and began to soar higher, out of reach. But one of the police had taken advantage of the hesitation, and taken out their gun. I realized what was going to happen a split second before it did, and was about to cry out when-  
  
"BANG!" A shot rang out, and Tobias fell, crumpling, the photograph falling from his nerveless talons. Rachel and Sara cried out and started forward. The nearest policeman grabbed the photo and was about to pick up the limp form of Tobias when Cassie screamed out, "NO!"  
  
I stared in shock as she ran forward, pleading to the Maker that she would have sense. I didn't have to worry. Cassie always has sense.  
  
"You've already shot the poor bird! Leave him alone!" The policeman looked at Cassie, then at her 'Save the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish' T-shirt, and snorted.  
  
"Come ON, Marlfox!" The policeman grunted and stood up. We all let out a sigh of relief as they left, though our troubles were nowhere near over.  
  
"How's Tobias?" Rachel whispered to Cassie, who was examining the wound.  
  
"It's not Tobias!" Cassie hissed. "This is an osprey- it's Jake!"  
  
I was shocked. Tobias was bad enough, but Jake? Jake was our leader, what would we do without him?  
  
"We'd better take him somewhere where he won't be seen." Rachel said. Cassie nodded and picked up Jake's peregrine falcon form. We went as quickly as possible to a short distance into the forest. That way, no one would be able to see him. Tobias came over and landed on Sara's shoulder.  
  
I guess now would be a good time for me to explain Sara's history. You see, she is Elfangor's daughter. If you were paying attention a little while ago, then you would know that Elfangor gave us the power to morph. That's not the half of it. She and Tobias are twins. No, not twins that are identical. Just twins. For a good amount of time during the time I have been with the Animorphs, I had thought that Tobias, um, LIKED Sara.  
  
"We've got to get those bullets out." Cassie said urgently.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, one disaster at a time." I said, "We should get him to morph, at least part way before we start to take the bullets out. Then we won't have to deal with loss of blood."  
  
"She's right." Rachel agreed. "Sara, can you get to him? You did with Tobias, remember, at the movie theater?" Don't ask me about the movie theater, since I wasn't there at the time. You'll have to ask Sara.  
  
"I can try." Sara said, and focused on Jake. I'm not quite sure what she was doing, but it looked like she was doing something similar to a Vulcan mind meld, only without having her hands on his face, and that "My mind to your mind." routine. Jake stirred slightly, and his eyes opened. We all breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Wha--what happened? Jake asked in thought speak. Thought speak is what we use whenever we're in morph, since in most morphs you can't exactly talk with a mouth.  
  
"Let's just say that 'watch the birdie' has a whole new meaning now." Marco said, and then yelled, "NOW MORPH OUT BEFORE YOU GO NAPPIE BYE AGAIN!"  
  
Okay, okay, you don't have to yell. Jake replied, which sounded a little dazed to me. I'm guessing that he was feeling faint from loss of blood.  
  
Don't morph out all the way, since we still need to get the bullets out. Tobias said.  
  
Sounds like the time at the movie theater. Jake said, and began to morph.  
  
Now morphing is a little icky in most cases. Most of the time, you want to scream, barf, and wet your pants all at the same time if you didn't know what was going on. We do, and it still wants us to do all those things at the same time, since morphing is not a pretty sight. Jake first started to loose his feathers. They mushed together and started to turn pink, like some bizarre hot wax. You could also see his morphing suit showing through. Much to our disapproval, you can't morph normal clothing, since it gets shedded, and when you morph out again, well, let's just say that you wouldn't want to be in a crowd when it happens. His eyes wandered to the front of his face again, and the wicked beak split and formed his nose and mouth. The wicked looking talons formed his feet, since shoes are also out on the "morphing protocal" list. Those were about all of his transformations, since he wasn't going to morph all the way, since the bullets hindered him in a way.  
  
"You'd better morph back now." I suggested. "Then we can worry about the bullets." He reversed the morph now, with the bullet wound slightly better now. "Okay, next dilema, how the heck do we get the bullets out?"  
  
"Simple." Cassie and Sara said at the same time. They had both obviously read Watership Down.  
  
"One of us morphs into a seagull, and picks them out." Sara said.  
  
"I'll do it." Cassie voulnteered.  
  
Are you sure you can handle it? Jake asked weakly.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Cassie asked as white feathers came from her skin. She is the only one I know that can actually make morphing look pretty. "If I can change the bandage on an angry wolf, then I can pick out some bullets out of Nake's wegg." That last part was garbled because she started to accquire her beak, and that makes talking very difficult.  
  
It was only a few minutes when Cassie was a full seagull now.  
  
Okay, let's see if I can do this. Cassie said to no one in particular. She cocked her head towards the wound, scoping out the best way to pick out the bullets. Man, these things are in deep. I hope I can pick them out. She went in with her beak and started to pick out the tiny pieces of lead. Jake winced slightly as she picked them out.  
  
"Ah, plenty good!" Marco said. I'm guessing he's also read Watership Down.  
  
There, that should be all of it now. Cassie said, and began to morph out. Jake did as well. Now, since the bullets were out, the skin could morph now. The good thing about morphing is that we use the DNA of an animal to morph, and DNA isn't affected by injuries. That's really saved our skin a few times.  
  
"Oh man, as if getting swatted was bad enough. Now I know how Tom feels." Jake said once he had a mouth capable of talking again. Apparently, Sara and Jake rescued Jake's brother, Tom, from the Yeerk pool, and saved him from being a controller.  
  
Now you're probably wondering what a Yeerk pool is. Well, I'll tell you. The Yeerks have one big weakness--once every three days they have to go this pool, and get out of their host bodies. Then, they begin to soak up Kadrona rays, which are some sort of nutrient to them, don't ask me, since I'm not a zoologist. If they don't do this, then they die. Once Rachel and the others, excluding me and Sara, destroyed a Kadrona machine, and that really screwed up things with the Yeerks.  
  
"Well, now what?" I asked.  
  
"The obvious of course." Rachel replied, "We need to find Ax, tell him what's happened, then find a way to get the picture back. That picture could really cause problems."  
  
I'll go look for Ax. Tobias voulnteered, and flew off.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Sara called, and dashed into the forest, leaving the rest of us to wait for them to find Ax.  
  
It didn't take long. Ax had probably been watching the whole thing in horror, unable to do anything for fear of being discovered...again. But he apparently had come to his senses at last, and had finally got into his human morph. Seeing that morph always gives me a strange feeling of deja vu. It's like looking at the rest of the Animorphs, all in one. Probably because it is. Ax sort of mushed their DNA together to make a human morph that wouldn't be recognized as someone else. It came out as either a sort of homely girl, or a strangely pretty boy. Pretty disconcerting.  
  
"I am sorry. Sah ree. Reereeree. I have violated our security. Tee tee. Ree. Teeree." As you can probably tell, Ax likes to play with sounds. It comes from not usually having a mouth, I guess. You can't 'hear' yourself when you're using thought-speak, as Andalites do.  
  
"Ax," Jake groaned, "Don't do that. Please."  
  
"What? Whuh-tuh. Whuh whuh whuh. Tuh Tuh-"  
  
"You know very well what!"  
  
"Yes, Prince Jake. Yes-suh. Uh." Ax seems to think Jake is his prince, and absolutely refuses to stop calling him so. Jake keeps trying, though.  
  
"Don't call me Prince Jake," he said automatically and wearily, rubbing the spot where he had been shot as if it still hurt. "You're forgiven for getting your picture taken- it's not your fault. Why did you come here, anyway?" Ax looked miserable.  
  
"I was hungry. I like food. Ood. Ooohd. Especially grease. And salt. Sal- tuh. And chocolate! Chocolate is my- what's the word? Obsession. Ession. Session."  
  
"We noticed." Marco muttered. Ax looked, if possible, even more miserable. I felt sorry for him.  
  
"Rachel," I whispered. "Maybe just one-" She had already put her hand into the bag.  
  
"Here, Ax," she said. "Just one. Will you stop playing with sound if I give it to you?"  
  
"Do not- notnotnot- bribe me! Eeeeee!" Ax let out a squeal as he bit into the chocolate morsel. "More! Moremoremore!"  
  
"No," Rachel said firmly, closing the box of goodies. "We've got more important things to do."  
  
I was wondering when you'd finally say that, Tobias said impatiently. Can we go? They might have destroyed the picture by now.  
  
"Yes," Rachel agreed quickly. "Let's go!" Ignoring Marco's snort, she hurried toward the forest. We followed.  
  
"Good old forest," Cassie murmured. "Very useful to morph in." I had to agree as I shedded my extra clothes and stashed them by a huge oak tree. What if we lived in someplace like, say, New York City? Where would we morph? In back alleys?  
  
I lost my train of thought as I launched into my broad-winged hawk morph. You have to concentrate when you're morphing, or at least I did. Someone who was good at it, like Cassie, might not have to pay attention at all.  
  
I shrank first, which was unusual. Usually I would shrink somewhere in the middle. So I was a three-feet tall human with pattened skin before anything else began to change.  
  
"I'm an elf!" I shrieked in a tinny voice, right before my arms shot out into a mess of wet feather-like extensions.  
  
You're always an elf, Tobias muttered. He seemed to be in a bad mood, probably because Jake had gotten hurt when he should have been there.  
  
"Hey!" I cried out, the last words I could speak before my mouth disappeared into a hard scissor-like beak, ready to tear live mice apart.  
  
Hey! Marco said at the same time. Marco is almost as conscious about his height as I am about mine, and I'm even shorter than him!  
  
Don't make fun of elves, Sara said solemnly. Elves are very cool. Ever seen Dark Crystal?  
  
What are these 'elves'? Ax said, confused.  
  
Make-believe creatures, Jake explained, testing his wings. I was still working on my feet. They look like tiny humans and have, um pointy hats, I think?  
  
That's gnomes, I said coldly. Elves have pointy ears and are green.  
  
No, they're not! Cassie said. And they don't have pointy ears. It's the hats that are pointy!  
  
You're all idiots! Marco proclaimed, swooping in a circle. Elves aren't green. They have pointy ears, and pointy hats, and pointy shoes, and they help Santa! Duuuuuuuh. Unexpectedly, Sara burst into laughter. You have no idea how weird it is to see, um, hear, um, whatever! Let's say HEAR a bird laugh. Anyway, it's weird. Phew!  
  
Here we are, the talking birds out saving the world, arguing over what elves look like! Are we weird or is it just me?  
  
Just you, Marco supplied.  
  
I am VERY confused. Ax mentioned.  
  
AAAAAAAAH! I screamed. This is too intese for me. Let's get out of here! I need to fly!  
  
Finally, eight birds of varied type, size and speed shot out of the woods toward the police station.  
  
We flew to the police station, which wasn't all that very far. I flew with Tobias, who you can already guess what his form was, and Sara, who also had a red-tailed hawk morph. The only thing was, hers was a female. That kinda was something that made Tobias nervous, as you can very well imagine. We flew somewhat apart, so no wandering eyes would wonder why the heck two ospreys, two red-tailed hawks, a peregrine falcon, a bald eagle, a broad shouldered hawk, and a northern harrier were flying together.  
  
Now I can tell you, there is nothing better than flying up high. You think you've had exitment? Rode a bucking horse? Nah, a roller coaster? Close, but nothing will compare to flying hundreds of feet up in the air on a thermal and then diving at top speed towards the ground, then pulling up again. Its like being strapped to a rocket pretty much. Its totally exhilarating.  
  
Ask me again why the heck Ax was out in the open? Marco asked. His morph was an osprey. He and Cassie had accquired the same bird.  
  
Marco, will you chill? Rachel replied. She was the bald eagle. It wasn't his fault. It just happened that he was standing next to a rare bird, and he got in the way when someone decided to take a picture. Just calm down.  
  
Oh, yes almighty Xena. Marco chided.  
  
AND STOP CALLING ME THAT! She yelled. I actually think though that she secretly likes being called that. We hoped that no one down below heard her yell. It seems that we all have nicknames that Marco gave us. Mine is Leia, because I have my hair in Princess Leia style occasionally. You know, the one in the first Star Wars movie that looked like she had two cinnamon buns strapped to her head? We all occasionally call Ax Ax-man. That's kinda a cute name. Sara has two nicknames. She also has a third one, but we rarely use it. They are Spock, because she's half Andalite and half human, like Spock from Star Trek, only he's half Vulcan and half human. Marco calls her that. The other one is Sar, just a simple one syllable name to use whenever we're in a tight situation, and we can't waste time in calling people by their whole name.  
  
It took us only a few minutes before we reached the police station. It looked any ordinary police station, if you've ever been in one. We landed behind it, in a small alley kind of niche, and morphed out. Sara finished first and kept look out for anyone in case someone came.  
  
"How are we going to get in there?" I asked. "We can't just waltz in."  
  
"Fly perhaps?" Cassie suggested. "No one will notice some flies."  
  
"No one except about fifteen bazillion controllers." Marco replied.  
  
"Too late." Jake said, "Flies it is." He turned to Sara. "Anyone coming?" He asked.  
  
"Nope, all clear." Sara reported. "Go ahead."  
  
We all concentrated on our fly morphs. It was the first one I ever got, since the day that I found Sara in the locker half morphed into a bird. Morphing into a fly is something that made you want to crawl into a hole and die. When you see the two fly eyes pop out of a person's head like a pair of balloons, your stomach really wants to protest. I kept my eyes closed as long as possible.  
  
It was when my wings actually began to appear that the fly consiousness actually appeared. It was very powered up, and it was majorly hungry. What I wanted to do at that moment was sink my straw like mouth into a fry that someone had dropped a couple of days ago. It was perfect! All mushy and everything!  
  
NO! I told myself. STOP IT! You're loosing control! I beat down the fairly powerful fly mind and regained control. After a few minutes, we all lifted off and headed as best we could towards the police station window. Tobias was going to stay outside and keep guard.  
  
Once I had the fly mind under control, I was out of control! I felt like I had drunk 20 cups of black coffee, and then had a whole chocolate cake. I was powered! ZOOM! I was careening towards a wall. ZOOM! I nearly collided with another fly, who I think was Cassie. ZOOM! I'm barely scraping the ground. I zoomed through the small crack in the window in the police station, with the others following me.  
  
Whew! Sara said with exhiliration. I'll never forget how much fun that is.  
  
Still, let's get this over with. Jake replied. That newspaper is eyeing me, and the two-hour clock is running. Tick tock.  
  
We soared through a few rooms with police officers doing work, going past some spiky haired guy that had just been brought in. A hand reached up and tried to swat me, but I was too fast for him. It whizzed harmlessly by.  
  
Where do you think it might be? Cassie asked.  
  
Who knows? Rachel replied. I think we should look for our bozo that took the picture from that kid in the first place. Sara, can you look for any Controllers?  
  
I certainly can try. Sara replied, Its just that its a little hard to scan when you're in mid air. There were a few minutes of silence before she said, There! The one with the funny looking hair. Follow him. We zoomed around and started to follow the man that Sara had indicated.  
  
After a few minutes, the person went to a file room, and took out a file. We were in really good luck because he he opened it up, and there was the picture. Through my compound eyes I could clearly see Ax in that picture.  
  
Another man came in, and I could hear their conversation.  
  
"So when will the Visser be here?" The first man whispered. I knew who exactly he was talking about. Visser Three, our worst enemy. He was the only Yeerk to take over an Andalite body. Very recently, we came very close to freeing Alloran, who was the Andalite he had taken over. Afterwards, I think that he was brainwashed, and our vital information lost. It was devastating to all of us, but I think it impacted Sara the most. She freaked out and nearly committed morphicide. Along with the word 'Animorph', that's another word that Marco came up with. It referrs to anyone who will purposelly stay in a morph for more than two hours.  
  
"Probably within the next two hours or so," another replied. "Is the evidence ready?"  
  
"I've got it right here." The first one replied. He paused for a moment, and said, "It looks like someone is causing a ruckus out there. We'd better go and help or someone will suspect something." They left, and the first man left the picture out on top of the filing cabnet. We all gasped.  
  
What a stupid controller! Marco exclaimed.  
  
Can I guess that we are going to get the picture now? Ax asked.  
  
No, we just wanted to go follow some controllers. Marco replied sarcastically. Of course we are!  
  
We flew up to the top of the cabinet, and sat down on the picture. It felt like we were standing on some strange field of colors, or something. We all got on strategic places on the picture so we could hold it accordingly.  
  
I grasped it, and tried to take off, but it was like trying to pick up an elephant, and a couple of boulders. The picture wouldn't budge!  
  
Oof! I heard Sara cry. This isn't getting us anywhere. She declared. We all agreed. I have an idea.  
  
Uh oh. I said. Whenever Sara had an idea, that generally meant trouble. Not bad trouble, just dangerous trouble.  
  
What? Rachel asked with interest.  
  
Come on. Sara said. We need to go to my house.  
  
We stood in Sara's backyard. It wasn't very big, because she only lived with her "uncle". Actually, her uncle was an Andalite who was a friend of Elfangor's. He asked him to watch over Sara, and so he morphed into a human and commited morphicide. Now we all call him "Gran", since his Andalite name is really unprounouncible. Ax was in his human morph at the moment, since we didn't want any univited guests. He was going to return to Andalite once we were ready. Tobias was up in the trees.  
  
Sara stood next to a structure, fairly big. She opened the door, and reached in. She pulled out an animal, with big ears, wide eyes, and huge hind feet. You guessed it. She was holding a rabbit. Cassie, Rachel, and I all squealed with delight and commenced to petting the rabbit. The rabbit was obviously enjoying all this attention.  
  
"What are we going to do with a rabbit?" Jake asked.  
  
"Oh, now what do you think?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Eat it?" Marco asked with a smirk.  
  
Sara glared at him with her fiery green eyes. "Don't you dare even suggest that, or I'll morph into a Yeerk again and crawl into your head. We can use Hyzenthlay here, along with a couple of others to sneak into the police station."  
  
"But we'd be spotted immediately." I replied. Rabbits weren't exactly unnoticeable in a police station, and a rabbit there would immediately signal that it was us.  
  
"Not Hyzenthlay." Sara replied. "She has black fur, so she would be hard to spot in dark places, and rabbits are natural tricksters. Besides, she can also crawl. I have a couple other dark bunnies that we could use as well. I've already accquired her, now its your turn."  
  
"I'm not going to accquire some stupid Easter bunny!" Marco yelled.  
  
"They're not bunnies! They're rabbits!" I replied.  
  
"Same thing!" Marco replied.  
  
"No it's not!" I replied.  
  
"Yes it is!" Marco then said. We did this back and forth for a moment until Rachel and Cassie accquired the rabbit. Rachel broke us up, and now it was my turn.  
  
As I placed my hand on the quivering rabbit's thick dark fur, I noticed the boys were acquiring a different rabbit. Probably didn't like being a girl, no matter what species, I thought, bemused. Then my attention was diverted back into acquiring the rabbit. You have to concentrate a little bit, though the morphing technology took care of the actual acquiring. I felt Hyzenthlay go still and calm as the acquiring trance kicked in, then I 'knew' that the DNA was part of me. I shook myself out of my own trance as Hyzenthlay recovered from her own. As I stood up I heard a shout from the other side of the room and a strange, high-pitched scream which I realized came from the rabbit. Sara hurried over and cooed over the dark-furred rabbit.  
  
"Shh, shh, Thlayli. It's all right... He's not a real hawk..."  
  
Hey! Tobias said, angrily.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that," Sara said, trying to control the still- squealing rabbit. "I just meant you weren't going to eat him."  
  
I don't know, Tobias teased. He looks awful good...maybe with barbecue sauce... Marco pretended to throw up in the corner. This did not improve the rabbit Thlayli's emotions, especially when Rachel began to shout at Marco to shut up, and he started to yell that Xena was torturing him.  
  
"Shut UP! All of you!" We stared. It was Cassie!  
  
"Woah," Marco whispered. "Cassie tells us to shut up?"  
  
"I suggest you listen to her," Ax said nervously. "This small creature appears to be on the verge of exploding." Obediently, we all shut our mouths or thoughts, for Tobias, and simmered down for a moment. The rabbit, too, finally calmed down and began to try to wiggle out of Sara's grip. Sighing with relief, Sara placed the rabbit down again.  
  
"Okay, Tob, you come at Thlayli here from behind and try to touch him gently. Hopefully he'll go into the trance fast."  
  
"Hopefully he'll go into the trance at all," Jake muttered, still looking in surprise at Cassie for her outburst. Luckily, the rabbit went zombie- like almost the moment Tobias touched him, and the rest of the acquiring went without problems. Sara picked up the rabbits, who were showing their skill at hiding in the shadows, and put them back in the hutch.  
  
"There you go, Hyzenthlay," she murmured. "Whoops! Don't step on Thethuthinnang!" I shook my head in amazement.  
  
"Where the heck do you get these names, Sar?" She looked at me like I had just hatched from a piece of cheese-covered broccoli.  
  
"Watership Down, of course! Where else?"  
  
"Where else, indeed," I sighed.  
  
She looked at me suspiciously. "You mean to say you still haven't read it?" I looked down at the floor sheepishly.  
  
"Well, I, um, sort of, well," Rachel snorted impatiently.  
  
"Look, you guys, are we going to stand around here talking about your summer reading list forever, or are we going to get going?"  
  
"Get going," Sara said firmly. "Let's-"  
  
"Hey!" Rachel interrupted. "That's my line. Let's go!" Marco muttered something noncommittal and sprouted a tail.  
  
We have a weird life.  
  
"Well Lauren, how was your day?" My mom asked as I came in the house. We had all morphed into our birds, and went home, deciding that we would begin the raid tomorrow, since it would be Saturday. I had lied and said that some of my friends and I went to the mall after school just to hang out, so that would explain how come I was late.  
  
"Great!" I said. I hated lying to my mom, but it was necessary, because, Heaven forbid, she might be a controller, it would mean the end of all of us. "The picnic was a blast!"  
  
"That's good." My mom said, "I was wondering if you would like the food there."  
  
"Well, as long as there are grapes there, then I'm satisfyed." I replied. My grape fanatics were well known throughout the family. "And of course, there were."  
  
"Do you have any homework?" My mom asked. Typical mom questions.  
  
"Of course not!" I replied, as if she had been asking me if the sky was blue. "The picnic was today!" My mom smiled.  
  
"Well, if that's the case, then why don't you go outside? Its a beautiful day, and it certainly shouldn't be spent cooped up in here." My mom replied. I said yes. What's a little while longer in the sun? I went upstairs and got out the picture I was drawing, along with my colored pencils and my drawing utensils. I was drawing a sunset scene, with a pair of horses running across the scene. So far, I had drawn the horses, and gotten the basic sun drawn. Something was missing, but I couldn't quite place it. Something..something..I didn't know, but maybe it would come to me once I started to draw again.  
  
I went outside to the back porch and set up my stuff. It was plesantly warm, and there was a slight breeze. I sat down and began to draw. I added on some grass in the front, and gave the sun a few more rays. Sun? Why was I drawn to that?  
  
FLASH! I saw myself, watching a battle, against a setting sun.  
  
I shook my head. What was that? I thought for a moment, I had seen Ax and Visser Three. I shook the thought away from my head, and concentrated on the picture. Was I going insane? Maybe this Animorph stuff was getting to me.  
  
The next day, I lied to Mom again, and said that we were going to the Gardens that day. It made sense, because I enjoy going there. The Gardens is a zoo/amusement park, which is kinda interesting. Both parts are fun though.  
  
Instead of going there and having fun, I was going to put my life on the line once again that week. That became anything but fun. We all met at Jake's house, since his parents were out for the day, and Tom didn't mind at all. He had been a controller, but Jake and Sara had rescued him. Now he was doing everything he could to help. If he had the choice, he would probably use the morphing power we had given him to help, but Jake had persuaded him to stay away from the battle. He had already done enough. We met there and morphed into our bird of prey morphs. We then flew out and went towards the police station once again.  
  
The flight went without incident. We all stayed a fair distance apart so no one would suspect anything. You have to admit, a group of totally diffrent birds flying together is enough to make anyone stare, and that's the last thing we need. During our time in morph, we have to stay completely in our morph, behavior wise. If a controller were to suspect us of unnatural behavior, he or she would pull out a Dracon gun and fry us in  
  
an instant. Then all hope would be lost.  
  
So I'm going to be turning into Bugs Bunny, is that right? Marco asked.  
  
Marco, will you COOL IT! Sara yelled. She obviously hated anyone making fun of her rabbits.  
  
Both of you, enough! I yelled. I was kind of preoccupied about what had  
  
happened the previous day. Maybe Sara might know something. For quite a time, she had been having visions of an Ellimist, and her father. Once even, she and Tobias had the same vision. One of the visions she had, we  
  
kind of all saw, because she began to play a beautiful piece of music on apiano at Cassie's house, and she didn't know how to playto well. I caught a thermal, which is a pillar of warm air, and rose up to Sara's altitude.  
  
Sara, I whispered, how long it took you to realize what was going on when you were having visions?  
  
Um, about a couple of days. Sara whispered back. Why?  
  
Because either I'm going insane, I replied, Or I saw Ax and Visser Three against a setting sun. I'm not quite sure what they were doing yet though.  
  
I see. Sara said, understanding what I was going through now. Just let the visions come, don't fight them. Eventually you'll find out what's going on. We're coming to the police station.  
  
Indeed, my keen eyes clearly read the sign of the police station on the side of the building. We landed in the same spot again, and once again Sara was the first one to morph out again. She kept watch while the rest of us climbed out of the morphs we were in.  
  
How are we going to get in? Ax asked, shifting from one hoof to the other.  
  
I scoped the place out yesterday after everyone had left. Tobias said. There is a hole large enough for a rabbit to fit through over there.  
  
Sara turned around and put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to one side and giving a lopsided smirk. "Now I wonder how you knew that." She said. Man, those two know exactly what the other's thinking. I guess that's the good thing about twins.  
  
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Jake said. "I kinda want to get this over with."  
  
"Well, do we have a voulnteer?" Rachel asked. What we did with a new morph was have one person morph first, so the others would know what to expect, and so they could pull the voulnteer out of it if the animal's mind took over.  
  
"I'll do it." Sara said, raising her hand as if she was in school. "I've had this rabbit morph for a long time, but never got a chance to try it out." She stood still and closed her eyes. I kept a watch for anyone that might be unlucky enough to wander around the corner.  
  
Sara's morph was a little more speedier than the rest of us. I was kinda jealous about that, because then she gets it over with earlier. But then again, I am not far behind her, kinda odd if you ask me. The first change was her size. Within a few seconds she had shrunk about a foot and a half. Dark fur, almost black, started to appear all over her body. Her spine arched some, and a dark tail grew out of her spine. Her face protuded some, and her eyes wandered to the sides of her head. Her nose grew smaller and began to sniff the air like crazy.  
  
"Whoa, Sara the hyper nose." Marco said. Sara didn't answer, because I think she was bearing down for the rabbit mind. Her ears went to the top of her head and grew like some bizarre weed. They became extraordinarily huge and papery thin. Her knees bent and became muscular, while her actual feet practically exploded. She started to fall forward as the rabbit legs took over.  
  
"Catch her, catch her!" Rachel said, and bent over to keep Sara from  
  
alling right in the dirt. After Sara grew claws, she became a full rabbit. She got up upright, and sniffed the air. Sara took one look at Tobias and ran off screaming.  
  
"Sara! Wait!" I yelled, diving for the little rabbit. She certainly knew how to make lightning fast turns.  
  
Sara! The rabbit mind has control of you! Ax said, Bring it under control. After a moment, she stopped hyperventilating, and came over to us.  
  
Sorry about that. Sara apoligized. I never realized how frightened rabbits can get when a predator is around.  
  
Cassie picked her up, so no stray dogs could get at her easily.  
  
"Well, let's get started." Rachel said. "I want to start being a rabbit." Cassie set Sara on some boxes, and she laid down while we morphed.  
  
I had just locked onto the rabbit DNA when I had a sudden idea. "Tobias!" I called up. "Morph to yourself- you know, uh, human. Then when we've all controlled our minds you can morph into the rabbit."  
  
All right, he said, and quickly began to form into the blond-haired dishrag sort of guy I barely remembered used to exist. I began to morph again, thinking the rabbit wouldn't be as scared of a half-human, half-hawk as it would be of a complete hawk.  
  
Unlike Sara's morphing, I got my ears first. Still human-like, they wandered around my head until they were happy where they were, nearer to the top, then elongated and became very thin. My skin turned darker and darker until it was nearly black, then suddenly sprouted like mushrooms after a rain into thick, healthy rabbit fur. Quite abruptly, my legs changed shape and I fell forward. Luckily I had been shrinking the whole time, so I didn't have hard to fall. My toenails sprouted into strange claws.  
  
Funny, I thought. I never knew rabbits had claws. My nose shrank and whiskers sprouted like some sort of weird mustache. I felt my organs squishing around inside of me, changing and moving. My eyes had been changing this whole time, and now I lapsed suddenly into rabbit vision. I could still see colors, but not the same as us humans do. I felt a small sort of bobtail sprout out, and then after a few more minor changes, my morph was complete.  
  
I sat, huddled on the ground, waiting for the rabbit brain to resurface. I saw that most of the others were also morphing. I could see Tobias standing sort of awkwardly over to my right. I was wondering what he was thinking and if we really looked too disgusting when the rabbit brain surfaced suddenly.  
  
Fear! Strangers! Run! This rabbit really wanted to run, and I let it. I ran right into the half-morphed form of someone, I couldn't tell who.  
  
Ow! The voice was familiar... how could it be familiar? Hey, little rabbit, whoever you are, don't run all over me! You just scratched my foot! I, the rabbit, didn't like that. I tried to run the other way, but ran into someone else. I began to squeal in despair.  
  
Lauren, shut UP! Someone will hear you! Get control of yourself, little elf! Lauren...I knew that name. At the mention of 'elf', my memories, and control, flooded back.  
  
Wha- what- wow. I lost it, didn't I?  
  
Yes, Sara said without malice, hopping her way over. We're going to have to work at helping everyone get their control back. Rabbits have pretty strong instincts!  
  
No kidding, I muttered. It was after about a minute more that everyone had completely morphed. While we waited for Tobias to finish morphing, we had to help the others get back to the world of the humans instead of the rabbits. It took a moment for me to calm down a frantic Rachel.  
  
Rachel! I said, It's me! Lauren! Snap out of it!  
  
After a moment, she went, Oh, sorry about that, I must have gone beserk.  
  
I think we all did. I replied. We heard a rabbit scream. I think Sara needs some help.  
  
After Tobias had morphed and gotten under control, we had to get going because Sara had been in morph for about ten minutes now. Ax made some remark about the strength of rabbit instincts. We blindly tried to get to the police station, because rabbits have their eyes on the sides of their head, not in the front like humans, to basically you were looking from two points of view. One side saw the alleyway that we were in, the other saw a group of rabbits--the others.  
  
Being a rabbit was fun, but what really was interesting was that it was like I had been deaf and scent-impaired all these years. It was incredible! I could smell the strong scent of asphalt and stone, and I could hear the rustling of paper in a passing by car that was behind the fence.  
  
We squeezed through the hole that Tobias had mentioned, since it was our only way in. I felt trapped in the hole, but the rabbit's mind felt more comfortable, because the hole and tunnel was very similar to a burrow underground, and the rabbit liked that.  
  
Marco started to hum the Mission: Impossible song, where it came from, I don't know.  
  
What's with you and the Mission: Impossible song? Sara asked.  
  
Well, this mission IS impossible, right? Marco asked. At first, you would think that he was a pessimist who never wanted to get into this, but in reality, I think he has the most reason to fight out of all out of us. You see, his mother is one of them, and one of the most powerful ones on top of that. His mother is Visser One, the most powerful Visser, more powerful than Visser Three.  
  
Marco, just get going. Jake said. We need to find this picture before Visser Three can take it.  
  
We got into the police station, and started to sneak under desks and the like, keeping to the wall, and praying that no one kicked us. I wasn't sure what it was, but this felt very familiar, like deja vu. You know, the  
  
feeling that you've been somewhere before. Somewhat like the horse picture the other day. We should try to find the filing room. Ax suggested.  
  
Wasn't that this way? Cassie asked.  
  
Let's try it. I said. We sneaked under some more people, and reached the filing room. It was full of regular files, but we knew exactly what we were looking for.  
  
We should hurry. Tobias said, People will be coming in and out of this place.  
  
Didn't the controller leave the picture on top of the cabnet? Cassie asked.  
  
I think so. Sara said, This'll be tough. I'm just about as tall as that cabinet.  
  
Now we all know that this will take a while, you jolly green Vulcan giant. Marco said to Sara.  
  
Oh, shut yer yapping you elf. Sara replied. We've got to find a way up there.  
  
My sensitive ears picked up the sound of feet walking closer. Someone's coming! I shrieked.  
  
The human came in with a lot of noise, which seemed to my rabbit ears nonsense but which my human ears recognized as 'Baby Love' by the Supremes. I wondered briefly why a Controller would be singing, and so badly too, but before I could react he stepped into the room and my questions were answered.  
  
It was the custodian.  
  
He was dunking his mop in something that smelled horribly and launching into the third chorus when he noticed us. "What? Huhhh, what the hell are rabbits doing in a police station?" He lapsed into some muttering and lumbered over toward us.  
  
Not a Controller, Jake muttered, But dangerous anyway. Let's hop it! We scattered as the janitor's hand crashed down into the space we had just vacated. Swearing, he overbalanced and fell into the cabinet. It shook horribly as his substantial weight knocked into it, and the picture was knocked off the edge and fluttered to the floor.  
  
The picture! Rachel hissed. We immediately began inching our way out of the tangle of furniture we had hidden ourselves behind- as the custodian struggled up.  
  
"Hey Jimmy!" he hollered to someone. "We got some sorta infestation in 'ere! Rabbits! Six...uh...seven of them!"  
  
Eight, thank you, I retorted silently. The 'Jimmy' rushed in, and I knew at once we were in trouble. He had on a policeman's uniform, and they'd taken over all the policemen... The moment he spotted us, his eyes widened.  
  
"Andalite!" he growled, grabbing the gun from the holster at his hip. I had an awful feeling that it wasn't a normal human revolver, but the deadly and very precice Dracon gun of the Yeerks.  
  
Holy shit, I whispered. What do we do now?  
  
I told you this was an impossible mission, Marco groaned.  
  
Hey, on Mission: Impossible they always win, don't they? Rachel said optimistically. He's not going to kill us- you know what Visser Three would do to him if he did. And we have something to bargain with!  
  
The picture! Cassie hissed. But do they care? Why are they keeping it, anyway? If people knew about it, the alien story would be all around town!" All this time, we were slowly inching toward the picture, trying not to catch the eye of the Controller.  
  
I suspect they are hoping to figure out where my feeding grounds are, Ax said. As they think we are all Andalites, we'd need a very large area to feed in. At that moment, I decided I was close enough to the picture to make a jump for it. I waited for a moment.  
  
The Controller turned his head. "Smith! Roberts! The Andalites are in here!" I took advantage of the distraction and leapt onto the picture, covering it with my dark little rabbits' body. Everyone scampered over after me as I pulled the picture up and into my mouth. Just then, five more Controllers leapt in the other door, Dracon guns lifted. We were surrounded!  
  
Sara, Rachel said grimly. You said this little rabbits are fast, right?  
  
Yes! Ever tried to catch a rabbit?  
  
Let's hope these Controllers don't try, Rachel said.  
  
Uh oh, Rachel, I don't like the sound of what you're planning- Tobias began.  
  
Let's go! Rachel shouted. Scatter! Run! Tell these stupid little brains there's a hawk nearby! GO! NOW!  
  
They're not- Sara began, but then we bolted and any more was lost. The poor janitor huddled on the floor, screaming, as the Dracon beams laced out, screaming through the air and burning holes in the floor.  
  
And that's the stun setting! I thought, letting my hind legs go like a wound spring. Utter confusion reigned.  
  
I dashed like there was no tomorrow, which there might not be for me if I didn't put my little rabbit butt in gear. I dashed about, crashing into a number of things because I wasn't paying attention. I bit down into the bad tasted of the picture in order to hold it better. Thank goodness they hadn't made any enlargements.  
  
Which way? Ax asked.  
  
Back track, back track, back track! Jake ordered. We followed the scent that we had made on our way in. Remember, every living thing has a specific scent, and right now I was following my own scent, and Thlayli's. I had to dodge quite a bit because I was a prime target for Yeerks, since I had the picture.  
  
Come on! Sara yelled, This way! Move move move move move! Need I say that she was anxious.  
  
We dashed under tables, hearing the confused yells of non-controllers, who had no clue what was going on. I dodged a broom as it tried to fall on top of me. The picture was now locked in my jaws, not like a death grip, just that I wasn't about ready to let go.  
  
I heard a rabbit scream, and I saw one of the guys get picked up by a police officer, in an uncomfortable position. When I say that, it was just that it wasn't the way that Sara gently picks up her rabbits. It was a tough pick up. He swung around helplessly, trying to find a way to get at the police officer that was holding him.  
  
"Now Andalite, you will call off your friends and give us the picture back. Now!" The controller said.  
  
"Andalite? Picture?" I heard a voice say. "What do you mean by that? Have you gone off the deep end?" I was guessing that it was a non-controller.  
  
Let go of me! It was Tobias. He didn't say it to the controller, but he would have if it was possible. This meant trouble. You see, as long as I have been in the Animorphs, and with Sara, she always had the tendancy to be very protective of Tobias, even before they found out that they were twins. I even watched one time as she let go of her human self and totally beat up a couple of bullies who were picking on them.  
  
Don't you dare do anything to hurt him. I heard Sara hiss. Like I said, don't intimidate her with hurting Tobias. She dashed up at top speed, and bit that guy in the ankle--very hard. I saw her draw blood, maybe down to the bone. Probably not, but if she could, Sara would.  
  
"AAAAAAIIIIGGGGGHHHHH!" I heard the man say. He dropped Tobias, and kicked his foot. That sent Sara flying. She landed on her back on the ground. Sara flipped over and dashed back to us.  
  
Sara, are you all right? Rachel asked.  
  
Yeah, I'm fine. Sara replied.  
  
Apparently, these rabbits can be dangerous when given the chance. Ax  
  
observed. We dashed out of that room, and finally made our way outside.  
  
We dashed about, trying to find our way back to the alley that we had come  
  
to in.  
  
I actually thought we were going to make it, when I heard a BLAM! BLAM!  
  
We were being fired on!  
  
After all we've done! I groaned. I definitely do not want to be killed by a bullet!  
  
Better than being a Controller, Ax said. I concentrated on running, then decided to let the rabbit brain take over a bit. It would know how to escape better than I would. I let Hyzenthlay's frightened consciousness come about halfway forward. She did NOT like being shot at. I shot off like one of the bullets that was following me, finding my way through tiny openings, concentrating only on running.  
  
Why are they shooting at us? Cassie was wailing. They just want to kill us, after all that's happened? I didn't answer, because I had found what looked like a way out. I got down on my stomach and crawled through a break in a brick wall, then popped out.  
  
I'm free! I shouted, forgetting myself. I had popped out onto a busy street, and the 'sound' of my cry was heard by everyone there. A group of students carrying a sort of banner turned and looked in shock at what was going on.  
  
"They're shooting at those poor little rabbits!" one of them said.  
  
"We've got to stop them!" Another growled. Just then I was able to read the banner. S.A.H.N. STUDENTS AGAINST HURTING NATURE. EARTH DAY IS TODAY AND EVERY DAY!  
  
This could be good, I thought, scuttling off to hide behind some sort of post. I listened carefully with my oversize ears.  
  
"Stop it!" one of the students was shouting. "They haven't done anything to you!"  
  
"If you don't cease and desist this moment," another was saying. "we'll report it. This should make a good story; policemen shooting rabbits!" Suddenly my head swam. Policemen...shooting rabbits.... I was falling. Another vision!  
  
I saw rabbits running, faster, faster. A woman was running after them, and for a moment I thought I saw myself. She had the same long dark hair, blowing out behind her like a flag. But she was much older than I was, old enough to be my mother. My mother... something jolted inside me as I thought that, and I began to return to the normal world. Just as I was leaving, I saw the woman turn. She was holding a baby, with hair as dark as her own. The baby looked directly at me, and I stared, not knowing what to think, into eyes the exact color of my own.  
  
"LAUREN!" I sat up abruptly, or tried to, then realized I was a rabbit. I spit out the picture I was still holding in my mouth.  
  
Huh? What?  
  
"Lauren! Oh, thank god you're awake. Morph! Now!" I looked up, confused. Marco was standing over me, shouting in my face.  
  
Ow. Okay, okay! Geez, you don't have to yell. I have really good hearing, you know. Marco was losing whatever patience he had left.  
  
"If you don't morph back you'll keep that hearing for the rest of your life!" he shouted. "Ax, tell her!"  
  
Lauren, Ax said urgently. You have ten minutes left. That woke me up.  
  
Holy hell! I yelped, and immediately began to morph back to my human form.  
  
Once I had gotten my mouth, I asked, "Where are we?"  
  
"Back at the dumpster." Jake replied. "You totally went out on us, just fainted. Those high school students 'rescued' us, and we were let go over here, since they thought that we had a home here."  
  
"Like I told Cassie," Marco said, "guess what she will be doing once she's in high school."  
  
"Oh, hush about that." Cassie replied. "Are you all right now?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. "I guess the stress is getting to me." I didn't want to tell them anything about what happened, because I didn't think that it was real, maybe some Ellimist trick.  
  
Something's fluey here, I thought. It was getting strange. That baby looked  
  
remarkably like me. Did that mean something? I went back to the present, and concentrated on the dilema at hand.  
  
"So do you think the yeerks learned anything?" Sara asked. We all looked at the picture now, and got a good look at it. Like I had said before, it looked like a very suprised Ax, and a red blur.  
  
It looked like they probably figured out that Ax hangs out around there. Tobias replied, But it isn't anywhere around Cassie's house, and it's a good distance away from my meadow.  
  
"Still, they've got a good estimate of where you live Ax." Sara pointed out.  
  
"Maybe we should find out what they really know." Rachel said. "I suggest that we infiltrate the yeerk pool, or get a hold of a controller, and find out."  
  
"Why did I get the feeling that you were going to say that Xena?" Marco said.  
  
"Will you hush about that?" Rachel snapped. We could all tell that she was not in the best of moods.  
  
Ax glanced up. It appears that it is becoming darker. I would suggest that we should leave and discuss this after you come out of school tomorrow. I looked up and noticed that he was right.  
  
"Okay." I said, "We'll discuss this tomorrow." We all morphed into our various birds of prey and took to the air. I flew for a while before I decided to talk to Sara about the "dream" I had.  
  
Sara, I whispered. when you were having your visions, what were they like before you actually went into them?  
  
Why do you want to know? Sara asked.  
  
Just curious I guess. I lied. I was lying to my friends now! What next? Would I lie to myself now?  
  
Well, first I would feel very exausted and tired, like I was about to collapse right where I was. Sara explained. Then I would fall into that REM sleep, and then the vision would begin.  
  
Hmm, I said, Well, okay. Neat. Thanks Sara.  
  
No problem. Sara said, sounding very suspicious. I bet that if she could, then she would raise her eyebrow, like she would do occasionly. She banked off as she came to her house, and I continued on my way home.  
  
That night, I had another vision.  
  
It was a given, I suppose. I was thinking it from the moment I got home to just before I fell asleep. Why had I gotten a feeling that that baby, the one the woman had been holding, was me? Suddenly it hit me. Of course! My mother had told me... I had been adopted. She and my father had adopted me when I was two. She had made a point of making sure I knew, and understood. I had just realized this and was trying to figure out how I could remember my life at such a small age, and was wondering what had happened to my parents, when I fell asleep and dreamed...  
  
I saw myself, a child of one or two, painting a picture of- Oh, god! How could it be possible? I was painting a picture of an Andalite. No, two andalites. Standing side-by-side. My dream mother came over, smiling, and admired 'my' picture.  
  
"That's very nice, honey. Who is it?"  
  
"Printh 'Fangor and daddy," I replied, hissing my s's because of the absence of my two front teeth. "Mama, tell me thtory of 'Fangor an' morph 'gain." My mother smiled, sat down in a soft chair, and took me on her lap. She gently wove my downy black hair through her fingers as she spoke.  
  
"A thousand years ago, there was a plague which threatened the whole of our Milky Way galaxy, if not further out. It consisted of a parasitic slug race which took over others' minds, working ruthlessly on a conquest to take control of the entire galaxy. They were the-"  
  
"Yeerks!" I squealed in delight. As I watched my dream self giggle over the word, I wondered if there would ever be a time when I would do the same.  
  
"Yes, darling," My mother continued. "The Yeerks. And we, on Earth, were the next step in their ladder of destruction. The Yeerks landed and began taking over our world, destroying an Andalite dome ship in the process. But one Andalite, Prince Elfangor, landed on Earth on a mission of his own, right at the dawn of the invasion. He landed on a construction site. On this construction site there also were some children- five human teenagers. They came to the site in pure luck. Elfangor was dying, and while they stood by him he gave them a power which would save Earth from destruction; the power to morph."  
  
My dream self looked bored. "I know dat, Mommy. Tell 'bout Animorphs!"  
  
"I was getting to that. The five teenagers hid while Prince Elfangor...died. Then they left, and began the long fight for freedom. They were later joined by an Andalite named Aximili, a human girl named Sara who was Elfangor's daughter, and another girl with a half alien background named-"  
  
"Lauren!" I crowed joyfully. My mother smiled.  
  
"Yes. Your namesake. This group worked for many, many years, trying to bring freedom to our planet. Things got very bad for a while, but with the aid of a new weapon and many new allies, the Yeerks finally were forced to surrender and the human-Andalite alliance was formed."  
  
"An' dey all lived happily ever after, Mommy?"  
  
"Yes, Lauren. They all lived happily ever after."  
  
I sat up in bed, gasping with shock. I realized I was also laughing. I quickly stopped. It was only a dream! Only a dream! It didn't mean we won... I slowly lay back. But I had been having visions, too. Could it be true? Could such a future really be possible? Eight of us against a horrible empire... and if my dreams were true, who was I? WHO WAS I? Daddy?......I fell asleep again, silent tears pouring down my face.  
  
I had no other dreams or visions that night. In the morning, my eyes baggy, I went up to my mother.  
  
"Mom, I was adopted, right?"  
  
"Yes. I've told you!" She looked a bit uncomfortable, as she always does when I mention being adopted. I think she wishes she was my true mother.  
  
"I know. But I want some details."  
  
"All right." Sighing, she turned from the computer where she was typing up something or other and crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Why did you name me Lauren? How was I found? How old was I?"  
  
"Hey! Slow down!" My mother smiled. "Well, let's see. You were found just standing in a field, crying your poor little eyes out. You were nicely dressed, if a bit strangely, and looked like you had been well taken care of. But your parents were never found. You were put into an orphanage, but you only stayed there a month. Your father and I-" She blushed slightly. "had always wanted a child, but had never been able to have one. You were like a sign from heaven."  
  
I hurriedly wiped away a tear and swallowed. "But my name, how did you get my name?"  
  
"Oh, that. It was on the outfit you were wearing. It said 'Cristalinamin- Lauravesto-Corrass.' And right underneath that it said 'Lauren.' I have to admit, it was a very interresting name." What was it about that name that rung a bell? I shrugged it off.  
  
"Oh, well, I've got to go, Mum," I said, extracting my shoes from the pile of junk that could be mistaken for a closet and putting them on. She groaned.  
  
"Again? Where are you these says, Lala? You're never around." I felt a pang of guilt at both the pet name and the reminder of my far-too-often absences.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said lamely. "I-I promise to stay home as much as possible as soon as I can. "Really!" My mother sighed.  
  
"If you say so, Lala. Very well, see you!"  
  
"Bye!" I called out, dashing out the door.  
  
I decided that it would be a good idea for me not to tell anyone. Hopefully, I wouldn't get any...any premonitions during the day, like Sara did. That way, I could keep this to myself. What was so familiar about my name? It seemed to remind me of something, but I could't remember what it was.  
  
I jogged down the street towards Sara's house. Apparently Ax had forgotten that today was a teacher workday, so we had no school. That was just fine for me though. My grades had been suffering ever since I had joined in on the fight against the Yeerks. Everyone had to work extra hard to keep the grades they had at the moment, and that was no picnic. Since Sara's house was the closest, we had decided to meet there, and we wouldn't have to worry about anyone spying on us. In fact, I think that Sara's house is the safest place to meet, since we don't have to worry about anyone easesdropping on us.  
  
I came up to Sara's house, and rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the door opened, to reveal Sara. She had in her hands some paintbrushes and a washcloth.  
  
"Hi Sara." I said. "Project?" I gestured towards the paintbrushes.  
  
"Oh, yeah." Sara said. "I have to do a model of the Tower of London. No stroll through the park I can tell you."  
  
"Hmm," I said, and stepped inside. "I'm glad I'm not in your social studies class, and I don't have to do that."  
  
Sara's Andalite green eyes narrowed at me, and she smiled. "You will Lauren. You're the first one here. The others should be here at any time now. Gran's at work, so we've got the house to ourselves." Her uncle works as a programmer for the Gardens, working to help create a more effective schedule that people can access better and get on time more often. As an Andalite, he had been one of those computer guys, so this was right up his alley.  
  
We walked into the small living room, where there were Quaker Oats cans half covered in grey paint, and some cereal boxes waiting to be covered. She moved those to the kitchen, with me helping some. Just as Sara was washing the paint off of the brushes, the doorbell rang again. This time, it was a strangely handsome boy, who we both recognized as Ax in morph, and Jake and Marco.  
  
"Hi you two." Jake said. "Tobias said he'll be coming in any minute, so you should open a window."  
  
"Already did that." Sara said, jesturing towards the windows, which had been opened wide. "I needed some extra air to help dry the paint on my project."  
  
"That social studies one?" Jake asked. Marco made a gagging sound and collapsed onto the couch.  
  
"Yep." Sara replied.  
  
"Is Marco okay? Kay?" Ax asked, glancing at Marco, who was still there, making a "dead" face.  
  
"He's fine." Jake said. "Just suffering from England project anxiety."  
  
"Is it deadly? Ly? Leeeeeeeee?" Ax asked. I rolled my eyes at how he was responding.  
  
"No, just stressful." Sara said, then walked over to Marco. "You'd better get off the couch like that before I dump all this grey paint down your shirt!"  
  
This looks interesting. Tobias said, flying through the window and landing on Sara's shoulder. Marco, I think she means it.  
  
"Oh no great Spock, I didn't mean to antagonize your great Vulcan wisdom." Marco said, sitting up. Sara's eyes seemed to flare slightly. I don't think she ever liked that name very much.  
  
After about five more minutes, Cassie and Rachel came. We all sat in the living room, anxious somewhat. The air had that feeling that it always did just before we went on a mission. Like you had a gut feeling that something was not right.  
  
"All right everyone." Jake said. "We'll use the normal approach, commando run, all right? No stopping to stir things up." He glared at Sara a bit. During one of the times into the Yeerk pool where it was supposed to be a in and out situation, Sara had gotten a bad case of sympathy, and really rocked the place up.  
  
"Tobias, have you found another entrance?" Rachel asked.  
  
I think so. Tobias replied. It seems to be a janitor's closet at one of the business buildings, I can't remember it's name. I can show you where it is.  
  
"Well then, let's go!" Rachel said. We all rolled our eyes at her normal saying, and began to morph into our birds of prey.  
  
As it was a long way to the center of town where the major businesses were, even as the crow (hawk?) flies, I dropped back to talk to Ax. It gave me a vague sense of deja vu, as I remembered Sara doing the same thing when she was having visions. But Ax was the only one who might know about the name.  
  
Ax? I asked privately. He caught on and answered only to me.  
  
What is it, Lauren? Are you feeling anxiety about the upcoming mission?  
  
No. It's just that- well, this is silly.  
  
As I read in the book of quotes Cassie gave me, there are no silly questions.  
  
Well...okay. You see, it's my last name. Corrass.  
  
But that's not your last name! Is it?  
  
No. It was changed. But that used to be my last name, and for some reason it rings a bell. Do you have any idea- Ax? Ax! He had fallen back.  
  
Sorry. It just came to me. Corrass is part of Alloran's name: Alloran- Semitur-Corrass. Just a coincidence, of course. But what an odd one! My blood ran cold.  
  
Alloran, I whispered. Who is he? Though I had a feeling I already knew.  
  
Alloran is the Andalite body of Visser Three.  
  
Oh, God! This time it was I who fell back. Ax banked and came to me.  
  
Lauren! Are you all right? What is wrong? I regained control quickly, nothing that the others ahead were looking at us suspiciously, and with worry.  
  
Um... nothing. Really. It's okay. Thanks, Ax. I want to be alone now. He flew away obediently. But despite my outward appearance of calm, as it is difficult for a hawk not to look calm and fierce, my insides were jolting like butterflies...or maybe more like marbles. Visser Three... He had an Andalite body, and could morph...I was apparently from the future, a future in which the Yeerks surrendered...  
  
Before my thoughts could reach the peak I was desperately avoiding, we arrived at a tall building with shiny blue-tinted windows.  
  
Here we are! Tobias called out. I forced down my thoughts to a small, dark corner of my brain, and concentrated on the task ahead.  
  
I never did like office buildings. Cassie said. There's something about them. It just freaks me out.  
  
Well, that was vauge, if I ever heard one. Jake replied. We sat on the top of the building, which was about ten or so stories up. Even though I was a hawk at the moment, my stomach twisted slightly. You never know what can happen at ten stories in the air.  
  
We'd better morph out, and pray that there's no airplanes flying overhead. Rachel said. Indeed, if there were any low flying planes, then we were in trouble, especially if there were any controllers on board, which undoubtedly there would be.  
  
We went into the shadows, so we would be shielded somewhat. I felt the stomach wrenching sensation as my organs twisted around to accomadate my human body. It certainly would hurt, if it wasn't for the Andalite technology, which numbed the pain to only some queasy sensations, and the occasional crunch as bones realligned themselves. My black leotard started to show through. Sara had already finshed and was now standing in her sky blue practice leotard. She takes figure skating you see. Rachel also has an athletic hobby, only hers is gymnastics.  
  
"Really, we need some sort of uniform." Marco said. "We look like some escapees from a bad comic book."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "Can it, will you Marco?" She asked. "That's always your topic of discussion whenever we morph out somewhere. Can't you think of anything else?"  
  
Marco thought a minute, scratched his head, and said, "No."  
  
"Oh seriously." I said, once I had a mouth.  
  
"Okay everyone." Jake said. "We're going to roach, and sneaking in. Tobias, you're leading."  
  
I decided that now was the time for me to speak what was spinning in my mind ever since we decided on going to the yeerk pool to do this. "Everyone, why the yeerk pool? We know what's down there, how hard it is to get in, and how hard it is to forget what is going on down there. Isn't there an easier way?"  
  
Lauren, I've never seen you this emotional. Sara whispered to me in thought-speak. What's going on? I just stared at her for a moment, and basically told her to be quiet with my eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry Lauren." Rachel said sympathetically. "I'm sure that we all don't want to go into the yeerk pool. We've seen what goes on down there, and frankly, I've had quite a few nightmares about that. If there was an easier way, I would most certainly take it, but I don't see any other way. Chapman is constantly on guard, and it's very hard to keep a controller captive, as we found out when Jake was infested."  
  
We all went silent for a moment, trying to take all this in. It was Ax that broke the silence. Perhaps this will be diffrent. We will stay out of everything as much as possible. That didn't help much, but it did snap us out of our somber trance, and into morphing. Cockroaches aren't exactly my first choice for a morph, but it was the only one we could all agree on, and cockroaches can take minimal damage.  
  
We scuttled through the minor cracks in the building. I never wanted to go into a building again, because we had just gone through a very large crack in the concrete. It gave me a sickening feeling.  
  
Are you sure we're going the right way? Sara asked Tobias.  
  
I'm absolutely positive. Tobias replied. I checked this out when I was riding a thermal. It is definitely this way.  
  
If you say so. Sara replied. I didn't get much into the conversation, because my mind kept wandering back to my dream, and what Ax was talking about. Me? Related to the body of Visser Three? It was sickening to even think about it.  
  
We plopped into a small office room, with a very large closet from what I could tell. A person walked in behind us, and we scuttled to the sides of the room. Luckily, he didn't notice us. He walked into the closet and shut the door.  
  
Do you think that this guy is a controller? Cassie asked.  
  
He walked in too briskly. Sara replied. I couldn't get a good hold, but I think it was a controller. Why don't we wait a few minutes. So we sat there, doing nothing for about two minutes. It was a painful two minutes, because anyone could come in and squash us.  
  
Well? Jake asked expectantly.  
  
Either that guy just can't put his coat on the hangar, Marco said, then added with a strained voice, or that's the yeerk pool.  
  
We all grimly started towards the door, not sure what to expect, when someone came storming in the room behind us. We scattered, Sara, Tobias, Jake, and I against one wall, Ax, Marco, Rachel, and Cassie against the other.  
  
"What do you mean that they escaped?" The man asked, obviously fumed to the breaking point. Another man came in, who I immediately recognized as Chapman, our assistant principal, and one of the higher ranking controllers.  
  
"I'm sorry Visser, but there were some students who were not controllers, and we couldn't stop them." Chapman stuttered.  
  
Visser? Tobias asked.  
  
Visser Three! I hissed.  
  
Again? Marco groaned. He's like a bad dream! Why can't he pick on some other group of world-savers?  
  
Hate to mention it, Marco Polo, I growled. But we're the only ones.  
  
Don't remind me! he said. And don't call me Marco Polo!  
  
Marco Polo, Marco Polo, Marco Polo, Marco-  
  
Shut up! Rachel hissed unexpectedly. I can't hear! Obediently, we shut up and listened, which, believe me, was not easy with roach hearing.  
  
"Students!" Visser Three was growling. "What did they do, throw pencils at you? Give you paper cuts? You can't let yourself be bossed by a bunch of minor...humans!" He let out the latter word like it was some disgusting morsel of food that he despised. I stared up at the normal-looking human mask, and the thoughts I had been trying to control came flooding back. Was I really related to Visser Three? Could it be possible? Or was it just a coincidence my last name was Corrass... How many Corrasses do you think there are in the phone book? I asked myself. Not many!  
  
With quite a lot of effort, I wrenched my mind back to the present and concentrated on the words the two Controllers were speaking, not who was saying them. Chapman was trying to explain.  
  
"I couldn't help it, Visser... there were people watching..."  
  
"People!" The Andalite-Controller snorted. "Soon there will be no more 'people', except the ones acting as robots for our kind!" He glanced over at Chapman, who looked like a slapped puppy. "Ah, well. It is not of great consequence. Our new plan will destroy the resistance once and for all. Pity there will be no Andalite bodies to infest... but that will change as we destroy the Andalite homeworld itself. Haha, think of all the little Andalite children writhing in pain...mothers screaming out..."  
  
Ax, no! Jake had to forcefully hold Ax back from leaping at the Visser. You can't exactly do anything in this morph. What do you expect to do, poop on their shoes? Seeing the logic of the statement, Ax calmed down a bit. But it was easy to see he was still fuming. Chapman himself was looking a little nervous.  
  
"Ah, what plan? I was not told-"  
  
"Ah!" The Visser crowed. "You will know, everyone will know, tonight. We are holding a meeting in the sub-annex of the pool feeding room. You were notified, correct?"  
  
"I was," Chapman said. "But could you not tell me about the plan now? What does it involve? Have you found another morphing detector? Is-"  
  
"I will say nothing," Visser Three said firmly. "Other than this: we shall soon have a very fiery victory. VERY fiery, indeed! Hahahahaha!" Chapman looked at his master, perplexed, as he opened the secret door to the Yeerk pool and they stepped into a dropshaft.  
  
What- what are they going to do? Cassie whispered, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
Fire, I said firmly, feeling a sudden lump in my throat. They're going to burn the forest. We were all shocked that Visser Three would go that far. He had left the room, leaving us on the floor. I was suprised that he never noticed us.  
  
What? Cassie said. She sounded like she was about ready to scream. Burn a forest? Are they crazy?  
  
Cassie, calm down! Sara reassured. We'll think of something.  
  
Yeah, right. Cassie replied. Like what? Morph into elephants and trample the place? Turn into something slimy and put out the fire with our wonderous mucus? Face it! There's no way to win this one. There is no way anyone can put out a forest fire once it's gotten started unless we can mobilize the entire fire department! And most of them are probably controllers!  
  
Cassie? Rachel asked. We were all shocked at Cassie's pessimistic outburst. What's gotten into you? You're starting to sound like Marco.  
  
You don't get it, do you Rachel? Cassie replied. We're going to loose! Finito! DONE! We will just dissapear, and the yeerks will take over.  
  
Don't talk like that! I yelled. We are going to win this, no matter what!  
  
Um, that doesn't sound right. Sara said. Lauren, you sound like you know everything that's going to happen.  
  
Did I say that? NO, I didn't say that. I replied. Where had that come from? Wasn't that from my dream, with the little girl? I had to cover it up, so then I whispered to Sara, I'm just trying to make Cassie feel better. If you're going to have an idea, now's the time for it.  
  
I'm thinking! I'm thinking! Sara replied. Apparently, she too was amazed at the fact that Visser Three would burn a forest. Then again, he IS a demented, crazed, evil psychopath.  
  
Um, I hate to say this, but we have used up about an hour of the safe time. Ax said. Apparently, Andalites have this internal clock that allows them to keep track of the time they've been in morph. We should leave.  
  
Cassie was still fuming, but with a little persuasion we finally got her out of the building. We took the same path we took last time. I could almost swear that the little cracks that we traveled up had become bigger. We returned to the roof, where it had gotten somewhat cloudy.  
  
"I hate to say this, but we will have to return tonight." Jake said. "We need to find out when they are going to start burning. If anyone has any ideas on how to stop the fire, tell the others. We'll meet back here at 7:00 tonight. Is that all right for everyone?"  
  
"No." Marco said immediately. "Why can't Ax and Tobias just find another feeding ground?"  
  
Three reasons: One, I happen to like it at my meadow. Two, we can't relocate the two Hork-Bajir that we are protecting in the forest. Three, if you don't decide to go along with it, you'll have to wear a hat every time you go outside. Tobias said. Despite our agitated state. Everyone howled at the sight of Marco being "bombarded" by Tobias.  
  
Throughly embarassed by this, Marco said, "Okay! Okay! I'm going!"  
  
"Well, you know my answer." Rachel said.  
  
"Even though we're going to blow it, I'll join you." Cassie said fearfully.  
  
I have to take revenge on Visser Three, so I am with you as well. Ax added.  
  
You can count me in. Tobias declared.  
  
"I have to stand by Tobias, and because of my nick name 'Gabrielle', so I'm in too." Sara said. When she mentioned "Gabrielle", she glared at Marco, who gave her a chipmunk face.  
  
"Someone has to keep you all out of trouble, so include me." I said.  
  
"I'm in too." Jake said.  
  
"Well, that settles it then." Rachel said. "Back here at 7:00. For now, let's go home."  
  
"No argument here." Cassie said.  
  
We all morphed into our birds of prey and headed to our homes.  
  
That night, I couldn't sleep. My mind was whirling with the possibilities... a forest burning... creatures dying...all because of us. No! I shouted at myself. Not because of us! Because of the Yeerks! Because of you! my inner voice wheedled. They wouldn't be burning down the forest if they didn't think you were in it... They wouldn't be burning down the forest if they weren't Yeerks! I yelled, but my resolve was slowly dwindling. If it was our fault, then it was also our responsibility...to save the forest...  
  
Suddenly I fell into the merciful land of sleep.  
  
I saw myself again, this time perhaps a bit older. I was running in the fields, laughing at the sun. I already had a veritable mane of black hair, and it flew out behind me like a flag. Giggling, my dream self threw herself down on the grass and lay flat, staring up at the endless blue sky. As she/I did, I saw a strange light in the sky, a flash of unearthly light. What is it? I wondered, looking away from my dream self and staring at the light. Some kind of spaceship?  
  
WHOOSH!  
  
Suddenly the meadow disappeared, and I was somewhere else. Only this time I was not watching myself, but some strange... disturbance. I seemed to be in space, but everything was white. Z-space? I wondered, remembering what Ax had told us. What's going on?  
  
All around me were flashes of light of many different colors. When two colors met, they would become a sort of whirlwind, then either they would both disappear, or one would emerge, victorious. Victorious? Where had I gotten that from?  
  
"What is this? What's happening?" I whispered. Suddenly a strange voice answered my question in hissing and resounding tones.  
  
"Ellimist....war!"  
  
WHOOSH!  
  
And I was back in the meadow. My dream self was watching the lights in the sky in wonder and growing fear, for the lights were becoming brighter and more turbulent. Suddenly my dream self seemed to sense danger from the lights, for she/I began to run, screaming, toward the house.  
  
"Mommy! Mommy! Lights-" Suddenly she/I was silent. Surprised, I looked again. She/I was not only silent, but GONE! I gasped in shock, then snapped my fingers. That was it! I was beginning to piece this jumble together! I had come from the future, and-  
  
WHOOSH!  
  
"Irritating whooshes," I muttered, looking around. I was back in the house where I had seen myself draw prince Elfangor. Only this time my younger dream self was not there. My mother was. She was crying while being held in the arms of a man who I assumed was my father.  
  
"No," she rasped, pulling away. "She can't just be gone! We've got to find her!"  
  
"How?" My father asked, spreading his arms. "We don't even know what happened!"  
  
"It's obvious," my mother said, pacing around the room. "That xenophobic extremist group, the yin-yang triangle one-"  
  
"Yiyatra?" Her husband said softly.  
  
"Yes, Yiyatra. They never liked the Andalite/human alliance, not even when with the Andalites' technology, we gained space travel. They decided since the Yeerks were evil, all aliens must be evil. They didn't like the look of the Hork-Bajir, either. So they began killing them off, one by one."  
  
"But they've been irradicated!" My father shouted. "They're dead!" My mother placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.  
  
"They're not all gone, Jenrik. And they're probably after us."  
  
"What? Because of that my grandfather was Visser Three's host! I had nothing to do with that! I wasn't even alive! Surely they can't hold a grudge against that!"  
  
"Apparently," my mother said sadly, "They can." My father fell silent, staring out the window at the meadow where I had disappeared.  
  
"What can we do?" he rasped.  
  
"If you can't stop the fire from burning, you've got to stop it before it starts," my mother quoted. "We can't quite stop it before it starts for Lauren, but we can do so for other innocents killed by the Yiyatra." My father looked at her and nodded, and they stepped out of the door, hand in hand, and began walking toward the distant city.  
  
I was staring after them when I heard my name being called. "Lauren! Lauren!"  
  
"Lauren! Lauren!" I sat bolt upright in bed and found myself looking at the worried face of my adopted mother. "You were tossing and turning, shouting something about fire. And something weird that started with Y... bad dream?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," I gasped, hiding my tears in my sheets. "Yeah." Understanding my need to be alone, she left, leaving me to piece together my past.  
  
I trudged slowly to Cassie's house at about 6:30, instead of leaving at about 6:45 like I had originally planeed to leave. Cassie's house was where we generally met when we were going to go to a sucicide mission. I had left early, because I didn't feel like flying to Cassie's house like I usually did. I had to fly quickly though, because Jake would probably go crazy if he found out that we used our morphs occasionally for personal reasons.  
  
Why couldn't the dreams just leave me alone? They kept coming back and haunting me. It was no longer a dream, it was a nightmare! Visser Three? My great grandfather? NO! I told myself. Prince Alloran, not Visser Three. And that supposed Ellimist war, what was I to think of that? I had never met an Ellimist personally, but I had heard of them from the others. They are sorta like "Q" from Star Trek, if you've ever seen that show. Something strange was going on. I was going to find out, even if it killed me.  
  
Okay Lauren, back to the present. I told myself. Enough of this speculation.  
  
I wrestled down the turbulent emotions, and started thinking how were we  
  
going to stop this mass slaughter of earth life. It was mad!  
  
I started to walk a little faster, trying to vent some of my anger towards the Yeerks. They were causing everything! Every single bit of it! I started to wonder, what would everything be like if the yeerks had never decided that Earth would be a good place to host an invasion. We'd probably all be perfect strangers, and everyone, what would their lives be like? Jake would probably be having a grand old time with his brother, like he used to. Rachel, her life wouldn't have changed much neither, the same with Cassie. Marco would still have his mother. Ax would probably become a great warrior in a couple of years, or however long it takes for Ax's rank to move up. Tobias and Sara, they would have never been born! Elfangor would probably never travel to Earth, and marry Loren, and have kids, Ellimist or no Ellimist! Me? What would my life be like? I used to speculate that until there was nothing to speculate about, but now what? I DIDN'T KNOW! I screamed at myself. What? What? What?  
  
I stopped yelling at myself, because I had come to Cassie's house now. It had never occured to me that I had been traveling for a good time now, because Cassie lives on a farm, and that's a good deal out of town.  
  
I walked over to the barn, and went in. Cassie was there, cleaning a cage. Her dad runs the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which speaks for itself. It's stationed in their barn, and is filled with screeching, growling, and any other animal noise you can think of, animals. Some had bandages, or stitches, or something similar.  
  
"Hi Lauren." Cassie said. "You're here early."  
  
"I had nothing better to do." I replied. "Have you gotten any ideas?" She knew I was referring to the fire. She sadly shook her head. I was almost positive that she tried her hardest to think of something, but nothing ever came.  
  
For a while, I helped her clean some of the cages, until the others came. Eventually, Marco was sitting on the hay, with a piece in his mouth looking rediciulously like those cartoon farmers. Rachel was staring at Marco with disgust, and trying to tell him that hay tastes like chalk. Jake and I were helping Cassie with the cages. Sara was sitting quietly, with Tobias on her shoulder as usual. I'm sure that her shoulders have gotten very tough now, with Tobias's talons. Ax was in his human morph, making weird noises as usual.  
  
"Okay everyone." Jake said. "We need a plan of action. It's obvious that we are going to have to go in there, and find out where and when they are going to start this. Did anyone have any ideas last night after we left."  
  
"No," Marco said, "But I did have a dream about being attacked by forks that looked like Xena." We all stared at him, bug-eyed. He smiled.  
  
"Now seriously," Rachel said, then added as she looked at Marco with the piece of straw in his mouth, "Although serious doesn't quite get comprehended by Farmer Brown over there, we need to figure out, how are we going to put out the fire?"  
  
"If you can't stop the fire from burning, you've got to stop it before it starts." I said. Wasn't that in my dream? Did that mean something?  
  
"What?" Marco opened his mouth and the piece of straw fell out. "Good lord. Lauren's becoming a philosopher!"  
  
"I'm not," I protested. "It came to me in a... a dream."  
  
What came to you? Tobias asked, looking as confused as a hawk can. I don't get it.  
  
"Listen," I said, the beginnings of an idea beginning to form in my mind. "There's no way we can stop a forest fire, right?"  
  
"Riiiiight," Jake agreed.  
  
"So, if we can't stop it after it's started, we've got to stop it before it starts!" I waited while this sank in.  
  
"All right," Rachel said. "I get that. That's great. But the problem is- how?"  
  
"I can't think of anything," I said hopelessly. We all turned to look at Sara. She was frowning and chewing the end of her braid.  
  
"I say," she let out finally, "we get going. We haven't got long, anyway. We can decide on the way."  
  
"Fabulous idea," Rachel said, grinning. "I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's go!"  
  
"What a surprise," Marco groaned, chewing a fresh strand of straw. "Rachel is ready to go. I never thought I'd see this day!"  
  
"I do not understand. Stand," Ax said, confused. "Why are you surprised? Rachel always- ah. This must be the strange human 'sarcasm'."  
  
"No, he's perfectly serious," Cassie shot at Ax before turning to Marco. "You know, I think you're sitting on the hay where we were stitching together a horse's stomach that other day."  
  
We erupted into laughter as Marco leapt up, spitting as hard as he could, while brushing off his clothes.  
  
"Come on," I said, trying very hard not to laugh, "Let's get out of here!"  
  
I had nearly forgotten my strange dreams as I began to morph into my broad- shouldered hawk.  
  
About fifteen minutes later, we were flying over downtown toward the forest, spread out as usual so as not to look suspiscious. I was just catching a nice thermal when I noticed something below. It was the green- and-white sign of the S.A.H.N., the Students Against Hurting Nature. There were about twenty of them this time. They were tramping down the street, waving their sign and singing "We've got the Whole World In Our Hands" racously while picking up trash and putting it in huge black bags.  
  
I stared at them unthinkingly, listening to the sound of the song. Suddenly it was if a light bulb had gone off inside my head.  
  
Hey! I yelped. You guys! Luckily they were still in thought-speak range. I just had the most fabulous idea!  
  
Only two minutes later, I was swooping down to land on top of the bright sign. Carefully keeping my voice toned down so only the group heard, I spoke. The forest...on fire. One of the girls, a redhead who was singing a rather nice harmony to "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands", stopped singing.  
  
"Forest? Fire? Who said that?"  
  
"Forest fire?" Another student, a boy with a ponytail, spoke up. "What forest fire?"  
  
"Forest fire!" Yet another student, this one with a shaved head, yelled out indignantly. "Who's setting fire to the forest? What are you talking about?"  
  
"There's no forest fire," The redhead said. "I just heard someone say it."  
  
The forest is going to be set on fire.. I hissed, clutching the sign with my talons. Stop them!  
  
"We've got to stop them!" The ponytailed student shouted, apparently thinking one of the students had spoken. "To the forest!"  
  
"To the forest!" The students shouted as one, changing direction. Giggling inwardly, I leapt out into the air and fought my way upward where everyone was waiting.  
  
It worked! I said gleefully.  
  
Okay, now what? Marco asked. How will they know where to go?  
  
What do you mean? Rachel asked. They know to go to the forest.  
  
True, but do they know exactly where? Marco replied. I mean, the forest is a big place, and by the time they had gotten there, it would have probably been too late for them to stop the controllers.  
  
Sara? I asked. The red-tailed hawk that was Sara was already focusing on the students underneath us, scanning them, trying to find any yeerks in their heads.  
  
They're all clear. Sara said. Go ahead Lauren, if I know what you are doing.  
  
I swooped down, to land on the same sign I was on before. Focusing my thought-speak to only the students, I said, You'll never get there alone. Follow the birds of prey! I leapt into the air, trying to be as attraction- getting as I possibly could.  
  
"Who said that?" One of them asked.  
  
"It wasn't me." Another answered.  
  
"Well then, who was it?"  
  
"It's the birds! Look there! Follow them!"  
  
"Have you ever seen so many diffrent species flock together like that?"  
  
"Maybe it's a B.A.H.N., Birds Against Hurting Nature! Ha ha ha."  
  
The students altered their course slightly to be following us. Even I wasn't sure that we were going the right way. Even so, we would be able to spot them a lot quicker than they ever could.  
  
I feel like I'm in "Frankenstein". Jake commented.  
  
Why is that? Cassie asked.  
  
Well, we're leading a mob. Jake replied.  
  
Yes, but it's for a good thing. Besides, this time we're not going to burn everything down. Cassie pointed out.  
  
We're coming to the forest. Rachel pointed out. Keep your eyes peeled.  
  
We looked around with our binocular-like eyesight, trying to find some evidence of the Controllers. I was about to suggest that we should leave, when a moving van caught my eye. From a crack in the metal, I could see that there were some guys inside, with torches. I also saw some Hork-Bajir warriors. There was also a big car, that had been beaten up. It was probably with them to cover up the real reason why they had torched the forest.  
  
Do you see that truck over there? I asked.  
  
Are you kidding? Sara replied. How could you not miss it? They're all controllers too. I can see them even from here.  
  
Follow us! I said, This way! The students turned with us like a flock of birds. I heard some of the conversation going on below me.  
  
"I can see their truck!"  
  
"Why would they want to do this? What did the forest ever do to them?"  
  
"Let's get them!" The students converged on the spot where the trucks were, and blocked their path. The driver got out and stood in front of them.  
  
"Just what do you think you are doing, out here at this time?" He asked.  
  
"Preventing you from destroying something that has done nothing to you!" The leader of the group said. "Return to where ever you came from, and we'll be on our way."  
  
"I'm afraid not my friend." The driver said. "You will have to leave before I call the police." From over by the truck, a scream eminated.  
  
"Oh my God, what is that?" Someone said. We landed in some bushes, a short distance away that were not visible by anyone. We morphed out, and watched carefully from our hiding place.  
  
"It looks like a snake, a kitchen knife drawer, and a tyrannosaurus rex!" Another person said. The controller driver was looking very uncomfortable. He started to move his hand towards the pocket of his jacket.  
  
He's going to pull a dracon gun on them! Tobias said.  
  
We've got to do something. Ax added.  
  
"Everyone! Start to morph!" Jake ordered.  
  
We quickly landed in some handy bushes and began quickly to morph out to human, then into our most dangerous morphs.  
  
Oh great, Marco muttered. He had already morphed human and was beginning his gorilla morph. So we go out and expose ourselves to who knows how many people, and fight a truckload of Hork-Bajir at the same time? Sounds great.  
  
What I don't get is why the Yeerks were so careless, Sara said. Sara was already halfway into her velociraptor morph, eyes golden like a cat's and dangerous claws beginnning to form. Forget us, why are they exposing themselves?  
  
It was probably an accident, I suggested.  
  
Yeah, well, what are we waiting for? Let's go! Sara, grunting velociraptor grunts, leapt off toward the truck. We heard screams.  
  
That's my line, Rachel muttered. Irritated at being only barely out of my human morph and worried about how tired I was getting with all this rapid morphing, I concentrated on my morph. Jaguar. Total steel. I turned away from the grotesque sight of everyone else morphing and worked on speed. My skin grew a lovely orange and black-spotted pattern, like a skinsuit, then popped out suddenly in fur. My legs shriveled, changed, and grew again. I fell forward, groaning in pain as I hit a rock. My eyes changed and I was blind for a moment before I could see in the jaguar's eyes. So different from human. My claws formed and with a strange noise a fur-covered tail zoomed its way out of my rear end. I wiggled it, grimacing with my new fangs.  
  
Ready! I growled. I'm outta here! Turning around, I noted that everyone else but Marco was also gone. Marco's gorilla face was squishing around, nearly complete. Okay, so I'm a slow morpher, I muttered. Bye, Marco Polo! Ignoring his protests, I leapt out through the bushes to see a scene of mass confusion.  
  
The poor students were running around screaming or standing stock still, frozen in fright. I noted one who was perfectly calm, frowning and rubbing his chin as if assessing the situation. "Funny," I heard him say. "I could have sworn the dinosaurs died out millions of years ago." I heard other shouts.  
  
"Oh, God! What is that? It's a... knife monster! And... a dinosaur? A tiger? A leopard?"  
  
Jaguar! I growled, leaping into the confused Hork-Bajir. I noted Jake decapitating one unlucky creature, and Rachel pushing aside a screaming student while she slashed at another Hork-Bajir who was roaring in pain and anger. I saw Sara scaring the heck out of everybody, and Marco throwing a Hork-Bajir into a tree. Hey, we're good! I thought, grinning a jaguar grin as I leapt an amazing height onto one of the few parts of a Hork-Bajir that was bladeless.  
  
Suddenly over the screams and roars, I heard a desperate cry. "Retreat! Retreat!" It was the human Controller. The Hork-Bajir were only too glad to comply, getting out of there as fast as they could and loading themselves into the truck.  
  
Thow back the torches! I heard Ax scream from somewhere. I didn't even know what morph he was in. Probably himself. Hardly a minute later, the truck disappeared in a cloud of dust, ten extinguished torches lying in its wake.  
  
Phew! I let out a sigh of relief, then winced as I looked at all the students, who were standing there staring at us like we were aliens from outer space who had just turned into a bunch of- wait a second. Okay, they were standing there staring at us like we were butterflies singing the national anthem of Peru. Jake, you want to handle this?  
  
It was your idea, Lauren. You clear it up.  
  
Okay... Listen, you guys. This was just a dream. You never saw it. Got it? They all nodded obediently. Nodding obediently sort of comes automatically, especially if you're nodding at a big talking jaguar. Good. Now, you just run along. Go walk down the street and sing "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands" to a lot of people. You sing nicely. Go on!"  
  
Most of them left, but a couple hung back, looking at us suspiciously. The one who had been the calmest during the attack walked up to me.  
  
"Who are you, anyway? Some kind of superheroes?" I stared at him, noting that he was wearing an X-files T-shirt. Figured.  
  
Yeah. I answered. It was close enough. You just helped us save the world.  
  
"I bet," he snorted. "Who are you, really?"  
  
Who am I? I replied. To tell you the truth, kid, I really don't know. He didn't look at all satisfied with this answer, and it was a long and anxious minute while he stood staring at us. Then he suddenly whirled around, linked arms with one of the students who was standing nearby staring with her mouth open like a fish, and stalked off singing "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands" in a horrible voice.  
  
Phew, I said, turning around. That was close.  
  
Way too close, Cassie agreed. Let's go home.  
  
Unable to argue with that logic, we hurried over to the bushes again (for some reason we felt safer there). A few minutes later, a small flock of exotic birds lifte up into the sky, then shot off in different directions. The different directions of home.  
  
We flew silently for a while, just being quiet. I was still pondering the Visser Three thing. No silly! Alloran! Not Visser Three! Visser Three is a Yeerk. It is Alloran that is your ancestor, okay? Now get a grip!  
  
I glanced over at Sara, who was flying absent-mindedly.  
  
What's wrong? I asked.  
  
Something just doesn't work out. She replied. The yeerks fell back way too easily. If I know the yeerks, they would have sent someone to start the fire while the others distracted us. The forest should be blazing right now, but it isn't. There is something fishy about the whole thing.  
  
Funny, I don't smell fish. Marco remarked.  
  
Sara is right. Tobias backed up. There were just too many glitches in their plan. They have a secret agenda, I just know it.  
  
A strong wind banked us off course slightly, nothing to really worry about. My hawk nose wasn't ever great for sniffing stuff out, but now the air had a distinctly fishy smell.  
  
Now I smell fish. Rachel said. Her bald eagle morph was designed to eat fish, so she could definitely detect the presence of the fishy odor.  
  
Ah, now how does that saying on the series, Star Truck go? A sinister voice said, I can see you Quirk, can you see me? My heart must have leaped out of my body and gone squeaking down in the forest below, but not before I thought, It's Star Trek and Kirk, you idiot.  
  
Visser Three! Ax hissed. We all knew who it was.  
  
Fly everyone! Jake ordered. Split up! I went with Sara, Tobias, and Marco, while Ax, Jake, Cassie, and Rachel banked off in the other direction.  
  
Ah, so you believe that separating will make the hunt harder for me eh? Visser Three sneered. No matter, it is only a matter of time before I find all you Andalite bandits, and put an end to your puny little existence. Visser Three believes that we are a group of Andalite warriors that escaped the destruction of Ax's dome ship, and are now trying to end the invasion. I said nothing, because if Visser Three found out that we were just a bunch of kids, then it would only be a short while before he killed us all. I wanted to scream at him so badly, everything, that I hated who he was, and I also wanted to yell to Alloran, I'm not sure what, but something.  
  
We've got to find out what he is. Tobias said.  
  
I heard Ax mention that it was an invisible sort of animal, that was able to go invisible and reappear at will. If that's the case, then we're all screwed.  
  
Maybe not. Sara said. If she was a human at the moment, her eyes would be glinting like crazy. There was one thing that we can tell where he is.  
  
What? Tobias asked.  
  
The fishy odor! I said, catching on to what she was saying. As long as we can smell that, then we know where the Visser is.  
  
We need to find a place to land, and get some sort of plan, and fast. I said.  
  
Right. Sara replied. Start looking! We scanned for a place to safely land and hide, while the whole time keeping our noses alert for the fishy smell of Visser Three.  
  
Suddenly the air filled with a smell not unlike a bait shop. Scatter! Cassie screamed, but it was unnecessary. We were already heading for the nearest star- as far away from the fish smell as we could.  
  
Hahahaha! Visser Three laughed hysterically. You can run, but you can't walk!  
  
Hide, you doofus, Jake hissed, not actually to the Visser of course.  
  
You will surrender! The Andalite-Controller shouted. You will bend to the will of the Yeerks!  
  
I'll never join the dark side! Marco screamed, diving between two trees. I concentrated on flying and smelling at the same time. The fish smell hightened and I, in desperate fear, dove down to the forest as well, bending and twisting through tiny holes. This was getting spooky. I was just waiting for Visser Three to say, "Lauren..... I am your father....." Well, at least he wasn't as closely related as all that.  
  
Ax! I gasped out, my muscles tiring quickly. How big is this morph of his? Luckily Ax was still in thought-speak range.  
  
If it is a Jukunian pea-hawk, as I believe, then he is about the size of a compact car.  
  
Great! Jake groaned from somewhere. He can swallow us all at once!  
  
Make for the trees! I screamed. Dive through small holes! Get him caught!  
  
Good idea, Rachel agreed. Let's-  
  
Done, Sara said, and I caught a glimpse of a red-tailed hawk shooting down my way. Sara? Or Tobias? I pushed my speculations aside and concentrated on flying. But my hawk's poor muscles, not used to flying so fast so long without thermals to boost, were getting very tired. To my dismay, I began to falter and hit a branch. I cried out silently in pain as my wing crumpled and I began to fall.  
  
Ha! An injured one! Watch out, little birdie, here....I....come! Suddenly the fishy smell grew so bad it was nearly intolerable. Terrible pain shot through my legs and I watched in horror as they began to disappear. He's...absorbing me! I thought. Had the Yeerks decided not to worry about getting our bodies and just kill us? Had they landed on the Andalite homeworld, then... Stop with this speculation! I shouted at myself. You are NOT going to die.  
  
As I fell and my feet disappeared bit by bit, the pain increasing every moment, a red-and-brown blur flashed by, slamming into the empty air behind me.  
  
Ouch! the Visser screamed. Why, you- To my horror, I saw the air shimmer a bit, and then the red-tailed hawk that was tearing at the air jolt and go limp  
  
Sara! I screamed.  
  
No... the hawk whispered. Tobias... Then suddenly the hawk's wings began to disappear, and Tobias screamed. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!  
  
There are different types of thought-speak. You can talk privately to one person or group, or you can broadcast your voice to anyone near. Tobias was screaming, and anyone near could hear. It was a scream full of pain-  
  
Tobias! I sobbed, trying to get up there to do something. But the Visser's tentacle or whatever it was was still on me, and I couldn't move. HELP! I screamed. SOMEONE HEEEELP!  
  
As if on cue, an osprey shot out of the trees and landed on a branch, staring at the spectacle in shock. Oh, God! the bird whispered. Oh, God! Lauren, what can I do?  
  
Marco... I gasped. My legs were gone and my hindquarters were beginning to disappear. I was about to pass out in pain. Nothing. Marco, go... Save yourself and the others. Save the world... Suddenly my lower organs disappeared, and the pain was unbearable. I screamed. AAAAAAAAHHHHH! Marco leapt up from the branch, about to dive at the empty bit of air where Visser Three was.  
  
No! I shouted with my last bit of energy, and he, surprised, went back.  
  
But Lauren, you're going to die! Tobias is going to die! I just can't stand, uh, fly here doing nothing!  
  
No. I agreed. Fly away. Fly away home... I winced as another wave of pain shot over me. Marco...Polo.  
  
And then I lost consciousness and knew no more.  
  
It seemed like an eternity before I opened my eyes, in great pain. I heard screaming. Who was screaming? I couldn't remember. Something about morphing?  
  
"MORPH OUT LAUREN! NOW! NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!" I heard someone say. I started to slip back down again, but then I looked at what was left of me. My bird legs were gone, and my bird hips. There was extreme bleeding.  
  
Just that was enough to shoot me out of it. I concentrated like crazy, and crawled out of my bird morph. I was so glad that morphing only relates to DNA, or I would be dead.  
  
As my eyesight came back into focus, I saw everyone bending over me, except Sara. She was over to the side, breathing hardly, tears streaming down her face, and her skin smoothing out from scales. Behind her was a huge trail of debris from the forest. After I had morphed out considerably I figured out that she had done a t-rex morph.  
  
Over to the side, I also saw Tobias morphing to his human morph. He had sustained just as much damage as I did.  
  
"What happened?" I asked.  
  
"Well, while you decided to conk out on us," Rachel explained, "Sara here was watching what was going on, and went to her Andalite side again. She did a t-rex morph just as your hips were disappearing, and took a big chomp out of Visser Three."  
  
"But she couldn't see them!" I replied.  
  
"Didn't you ever watch any of those palentology shows?" Cassie asked. "Even if you stood perfectly still, a t-rex could find you because tyrannosaurs have an excellent sense of smell, and can detect animals's scents, even alien scents. That fishy smell of Visser Three was what got him."  
  
By this time, I was totally morphed out, and Tobias was all right now. Sara came over to evaluate her twin's condition, and to see how I was doing.  
  
"Man Sara, those anger outbursts will get you nowhere one day." I said. "But thanks for getting rid of him." I realized what I was saying. Did Sara just kill my ancestor? I must have turned very pale then, because everyone stared at me. "Did you kill Visser Three?" I asked.  
  
"No, I would have liked to though." Sara replied. I sort of took that as offense, but didn't say anything, because she didn't know.  
  
"Well, I guess you didn't, because I'm still here." I replied. Time stuff gave me a headache, but I was able to figure that out.  
  
"What?" Everyone asked at once.  
  
"I mean--well, um," I stuttered.  
  
"Okay, out with it Lauren." Tobias said. He was still in his human morph.  
  
I bit my lip, trying to figure out the best way to tell them. This was going to be tough, especially because I'm not very good at explaining things. I knew now how Sara felt when she had to tell us about her visions.  
  
I took a deep breath, and said, "As far as I can tell, I'm from the future. I'm not sure when, or how I got here, but when I was three or so, I was sent back in time to now due to an Ellimist war. That I can handle, but the thing I can't handle is that I'm a direct descendant of Visser Three!"  
  
They all stared a moment, until Ax broke the silence, and said, "You mean War Prince Alloran."  
  
"Same thing." I replied. "But it's true!"  
  
"Oh dear," Sara said, staggering a bit, "If I had killed Visser Three, you would disappear because I would have ruined the entire space time continium!"  
  
"Come again?" Tobias asked. Sara then let out a whole string of explaining about how the timeline would unravel, and stuff like that. The only one who seemed to understand even a little bit of it was Ax.  
  
"Wait, I get it now." Jake said. "In other words, Visser Three would be dead, so he would never have kids, who would never have kids, and so on, so Lauren would never exist, and we would have never remembered her!"  
  
"Speaking of which, what happened to the ol' Visser anyway?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Well, when I took a chomp out of him, he became visible again, and I had a bad taste in my mouth." Sara explained. "He hightailed it back to where ever he came from. He's probably whacking the head of some unlucky controller as we speak, in a fit of rage."  
  
"Now we know where Lauren's intimidating personality comes from." Marco  
  
said to me. I glared at him good naturely.  
  
"Marco Polo," I snarled back. It really was a stupid nickname, but it was all I could think of.  
  
"Princess Leia!" he howled. Rachel buried her head in her hands and began to moan.  
  
"Woah, Lauren, what's wrong?" Cassie asked, looking at me, worried. Jake glanced up.  
  
"You've gone pale! Holy cow! What is it?" I glanced up at the worried faces, gulped, then forced a smile.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a funny coincidence, that's all."  
  
"What what what what what what?" Marco said annoyingly, chewing on a leaf to take place of the hay. I laughed nervously, embarrased.  
  
"Really, it's nothing. Just when you called me Leia, well, it scared me."  
  
"I get it," Sara said. "Like Visser Three's related to you, the worst enemy, and-"  
  
"The Yeerks are the Dark side!" Jake spurted, and fell over in laughter. "You'll bend to my will, Andalites. I'll never join you, Visser Three! Lauren, I am your great-ahahhahaha!" We all dissolved into laughter. Ax stood staring.  
  
I do not understand this," he menitoned. "I suppose I should be laughing. Hah. Aha. Haha. Ha. Ha. Ha-  
  
"Stop it!" Cassie said, waving at Ax. "You're scaring me. Well, I suppose we should explain it to him."  
  
I'll do it, Tobias said eagerly. While he and Ax went into the details of the famous Star Wars trilogy, I explained more details of my visions.  
  
"So you were named after yourself in the past in the future?" Jake said, then frowned. "Did that make any sense?"  
  
"No." Rachel said.  
  
"No, I get it," I said, going into the millionth explanation. "My mother named me after the famous Lauren, saver of the world-heh heh- and then I went back in time and my name was on my shirt, so-"  
  
"So you were named the same name- AGH! I hate time travel!" Cassie moaned, holding her head. "Can we-"  
  
"Wait a second!" Marco held up a hand. "You're saying we WON in the future?"  
  
"Yeeeah...so?"  
  
"So that means we're going to win!" Marco said, looking amazed. "Man, that almost makes me want to go on another suicide mission!"  
  
"That'd be a first," Rachel said dryly.  
  
"I said almost," Marco reminded her. "But isn't that cool! We really do save the world! And become rich and famous, da da da..."  
  
"Hey!" I silenced all their excited jabberings with a raise of my hand. "It's only one possible timeline, you guys. There's no complete assurance it will actually happen!"  
  
"Still," Cassie said. "Now we know it's possible." We kept an almost reverent silence for a moment, though it's hard to be reverent with the sound of a hawk imitating Darth Vader in the background.  
  
"Well," Rachel said brightly, getting up. "I guess we'd better do all we can to make that future possible."  
  
"You sound like my math teacher," I complained, glancing at my watch. "Well, I'd better be off. See you!" They all murmured their goodbyes, still shaken by the recent battle. I heard Marco shoot of a 'Leia' after me as I hurried off. "Lauren! does this mean we can call you spock now?"  
  
"Well...I suppose you could. But since you do have a gorilla morph....I guess that mean I can call you a hairy mexican."  
  
His mouth just dropped, and I was on my way home.  
  
As I walked along the sidewalk toward my house, I stopped a moment to look at the stars. Where would I be if it weren't for that Ellimist war? I wondered. Up there? I stared at the stars wishfully for another moment, then sighed and began walking again. Whatever future I would have had, it couldn't be as important as the one I had now. Whistling "We've got the Whole World in Our Hands", I opened the door and stepped in.  
  
"I'm home!" I called. "Boy, did I have a day." 


End file.
